Legacy
by PsychoCircus
Summary: The threat of the Ninth Circle still looms over Felicity and Mia, even though Oliver died during the cosmic Crisis that threatened the multiverse. In the wake of his death and the subsequent victory over the Crisis, Felicity decides its time to start training Mia to keep her safe from the Ninth Circle and other threats that may endanger them in the future
1. Chapter 1

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 1**

_The Monitor stood silently behind Oliver, stoic and unreadable, as her husband turned to her. His face twisted with emotion, and tears streamed from his eyes. Felicity couldn't remember three times she'd ever seen the man she loved cry. Surely there were more, but in that moment, she couldn't summon any of them to mind._

"_I need you to make me a promise," Oliver said. His voice sounded like it was cracking, like old stairs in a long abandoned cabin in the woods forgotten so long, vines and ivy had claimed it for their own. His eyes were always intense, but in that moment, they were like dark stars shining in their own swirling coronas of color. She felt his hands holding her shoulders gently, but in the firm grip of despair and desperation as well._

_Felicity used her palms to wipe the tears from her own eyes, and sniffled as she fought to keep it together. It was a battle that she was failing miserably. With a heavy sigh, she answered, "Yeah. Okay." The tone of her voice was one of defeat, of futility._

_Oliver gently lifted her chin and stared into her eyes for a long moment. Finally, he found his voice, and managed to get out, "I need you do everything in your power to keep William and Mia safe, no matter what. No matter_ what._" He could feel his insides churning, as if they were being ripped out by some dull instrument, and his soul felt like it was collapsing in on itself._

_The young woman shivered at the sound of finality in that request. At that moment, she knew he had to go, and he was never coming back. The Monitor had said as much, in as many words, just moments ago. The man she loved was going to die to save the universe, maybe multiple universes if she understood the godlike being correctly. Still, why did it_ always_ have to be_ him?"

"_I will, I promise," she answered. The tightness of her throat was closing around her words, making them strained with emotion. "I'll keep them safe, always."_

_With a soft nod of his head, Oliver acknowledged her answer, and it seemed to set his heart somewhat at ease. He trusted Felicity with his life and soul, he trusted her with their children. The only way he could bear to leave with the Monitor and do whatever it was that he was supposed to be doing was if he knew that Felicity, William and Mia were safe._

_He squeezed her shoulders once more and met her gaze again. His eyes were swimming with the emotions that sizzled through them both like liquid lightning. "And tell Mia that I love her every day for me?" he asked. The question had the weight of being one of the last things that he'd ever say to her, and it was tearing them both up inside._

"_I will, I promise," she answered immediately, as she hung onto his arms with the grip of someone drowning. "I love you. No matter where you go, I'll find you, and we'll be together again," she said, even as Oliver closed his eyes and stepped away. Their hands slid apart only after holding tightly to one another for long seconds. Her arms came around herself, and wrapped tightly around her ribcage._

"_I love you, too," he said softly. She heard Oliver's almost whispered words as he pulled away and stepped with the Monitor through the breach that had formed in the middle of their kitchen. He turned to look over his shoulder and take a last look and the breach glowed brightly, and its light flashed against the polished walls of the room._

_Something was wrong, very wrong. The light grew too bright, and there was a whine of building energy flaring from the literal hole in space time. A wave of bright white light, tinged in reddish orange, poured from the portal, through the windows, under the door, from each and every crevice that it could possibly pour through, and it destroyed everything in its path. Panicked, Felicity screamed, "Oliver, don't! Come ba—."_

Felicity jerked awake with a harsh gasp, and reflexively tried to sit up. Her sudden movement disturbed the sleep of her three year old daughter who had been lying on her chest as they both slept on the couch. Felicity's hands shook as she caught Mia before she fell to the floor. "It's okay, it's okay, Sweet Pea," she whispered softly, as she tried to coax the little girl back to sleep. "Mommy just had a bad dream."

The young mother cradled the little girl to her chest and stroked her hair as she laid her cheek against the youngster's soft hair. As the child dozed back off, safe and secure in the embrace of her mother's arms, Felicity felt her heart beating a mile a minute and her breathing felt labored as if she were running for her life.

_Maybe I am,_ she thought as she glanced at the precious bundle she held. _Maybe I've been running since the night the Monitor came into our home and took Oliver from us. We can't run forever. If we're going to have to be on the lookout constantly, then I have to be sure Mia is safe, that she can take care of herself, and I can't put it off any longer. The Ninth Circle could find us any day now, at any time. I'll be damned if they'll make Oliver's sacrifice…our sacrifice…all for nothing. Our baby girl is going to have to grow up much faster than I had hoped she would._

She eased Mia back down onto the couch and covered her up with her favorite blanket. The blanket was worn but soft and warm, the same blanket that Oliver used to fall asleep with her on the chair with. The sight of that had always warmed her heart. Despite Oliver's protests, he was truly the perfect father in Felicity's opinion. He cared for his daughter, his family, as few men could or did. Neither of them ever failed to feel the love that burned from him like the sun, neither of them had to guess that his heart belonged to them.

Felicity watched her sleep a moment as a small smile played lightly at the corners of her lips. She wished Oliver had had more time, so he could see her grow, take her first steps, hear her first words be "da da" more than likely. She wished that they could have spoken with William's grandparents about getting shared custody as they had spoken about just before he had to leave. She wished this danger, crisis, whatever the hell it was had taken a swan dive off the edge of who gives a shit. Mia would need William, and she couldn't lie to herself, she would need William too.

William was only about thirteen the last time she and Oliver had seen him, and neither of them had been able to see him since he went to live with his grandparents in Central City. Felicity genuinely loved him as if he were her own child and even though he may have shared more in common with Felicity in some ways, he did have the strength of his father in him, and she knew he did. She'd seen it time and again during the time he had lived with them. He reminded her of Oliver in so many ways, and she hated that his grandparents had been so against them seeing him, despite promising them visiting times.

She shook herself out of her reverie, and glanced outside. Her eyes tracked across the yard slowly. The light rain falling from the sky pattered against the windows, but all seemed calm. John had made sure that the house had been set up with the absolute best in security, as well as being on Argus' protective watch list. The motion sensors on the automatic lights were still and quiet. No triggers were going off in the house from any of the security panels.

Felicity bent and softly kissed Mia's sleeping head and picked up the phone. She moved a comfortable distance from her daughter, making sure she had her in full sight, and a clear path to her, and then dialed a number. As the phone started ringing, she breathed out slowly, trying to compose herself. There was no reason to panic, no obvious one, but Ricardo Diaz had taught her the value of good old fashioned paranoia. The Ninth Circle gave her even more incentive to be extra sure.

The phone clicked as someone picked up, and a sleepy familiar voice came over the speaker. "Diggle," the voice said as the owner of it audibly yawned. Felicity hated bugging them so late, but she couldn't get the thought out of her head that she had to do something _right then_ to ensure Mia's safety. There was no way she could possibly sleep until she did.

"John? I'm so sorry to bother you and Lyla this late, but I— " she started, trying to keep her voice quiet enough that she wouldn't wake the little girl on the couch. The cold fist of fear was closing around her, that indefinable fear that comes from pure anticipation and dread. Worse, that fear only strengthened her resolve, and pushed her into action.

There was a definite sound of someone moving around a little and then John replied, "Felicity? Take it easy, it's all right. What's going on? Talk to me." At one time, in the past, it was possible for Felicity to be easily spooked, but that had changed in the years since he'd first met her. Over the years, especially with the trials and tribulations that she and Oliver had weathered, she had changed. Now, she was as strong and resilient as steel. Whatever was bothering her had to be something substantial.

Felicity drew in a breath and leaned back against the wall, as she kept an eye on the couch. "I know you're probably going to think this is stupid, and it probably is, but Mia's going to be four in a few days. The Ninth Circle is still out there, and you can bet they're still looking for us. Mia needs to be safe, and to be safe she needs to be ready. She needs to be ready _now._ I need your help."

There was the sound of a door softly closing, presumably to keep from waking Lyla, and the sound quality of John's voice changed, due to closer confines. He sighed lightly, and waited only a couple of seconds. "You're right. I'm sure they haven't forgotten, and if they think they get even a whiff of you, they'll come. So, no it's not stupid at all, it's what any sane parent would want. You say Mia needs to be ready. What do you need from me? How can I help?"

Felicity breathed out a sigh of relief. "I knew we could count on you, John. Thank you, you don't have any idea how much. I know it's late, but this might be the perfect time, depending," she gushed, obviously trying not to let herself get loud enough to wake Mia.

A click sounded over the phone, and Felicity imagined he had gone into the kitchen, or maybe the living room. "Of course you can count on me, on us, Felicity. You're family. This might be the perfect time for what, exactly?" he asked as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water before he sat down at the kitchen table.

There was a slight pause, and then she answered, "I need to get in touch with Nyssa. Do you have any idea where they are, or how you can get in touch with them? I need her help, too. You can't tell her, Thea, or Roy what this is all about, though. The less that's said about this over an open line where anyone can tap in, the better." The more they talked and made plans, the better Felicity was feeling, even though she still felt edgy and hyper alert.

There was a considered silence for a few moments, and then the sound of a refrigerator door closing. "I think I know a way I can get in touch with her. She gave us access to some of the old League grapevine before she, Thea and Roy left to go searching for the Lazarus Pits. I'll get word to her, and have her call you."

"Thank you, John, truly," replied Felicity as she moved to the table and scribbled some notes on a pad. "Please, have her call me on this number, but tell her to use a burner phone. I'm going to encrypt the phone line, and make sure nobody can tap the call. I'll set up some security here at the house. I've got a split version of Archer plugged in to augment the security you set up, so everything should be good to go."

John smiled lightly as he listened to her. _She must be calming down. Now she sounds like the Felicity we all know and love._ "I will. Now, try to get yourself some sleep, and you make sure to hug that little girl and give her a kiss on the cheek for her Uncle John and Aunt Lyla. No one's going to hurt either of you on our watch."

"You know I will. She adores you two. Thanks, John, for everything."

X

True to his word, John had made contact with Nyssa Al Ghul, and gave her the instructions that Felicity had given him. He had left out details, by necessity, she knew. Since Nyssa had been born into and raised in the League of Assassins, secrecy and mystery were as much a part of her as the air she breathed. This was familiar territory, and she had to admit that part of her had missed it.

About six hours after she had hung up with John early that morning, Felicity's phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, and she hoped it wasn't some telemarketer or something stupid like that calling. She turned the scrambler she'd built into the phone security portion of Archer and answered, "Hello?"

"Felicity," said the voice on the other end in a soft, cultured English accent, though it had very subtle Middle Eastern undertones to it. The voice was unmistakable. "John said that there was something urgent you required my assistance with? And that it was so secretive, your sister in law and Roy were not to be aware of it as well?" she asked for clarification. The curiosity was thick in her tone.

Felicity felt a thousand pounds lighter as the air rushed from her lungs where she'd been holding it without realizing it. "Nyssa!" she exclaimed as she wiped some jelly from Mia's face. "Oh, thank God he found you. Yes, yes it's urgent, definitely urgent," she replied and it was obvious that she was moving and lowering her voice. "Have you ever heard of the Ninth Circle?"

Nyssa's brow crinkled as she frowned and spoke into the phone, "Yes, of course I've heard of them. I'm surprised that _you've_ heard of them. Their existence is only known of by a select few groups and individuals. The League was one such group. Each generally stayed out of the other's business. How do you know about them, and why do you ask?" It sounded like Oliver and Felicity had found their way into perilous straits.

Felicity breathed deeply and slowly. The sounds of a children's TV show were faint in the background, though Nyssa could hear it somewhat. After a moment, Felicity gave her the answer she sought, "It turns out that Oliver's psycho half sister Emiko Adachi was their leader. We'd been trying to track down this scum bag called Dante, and our search led us to Emiko a few years ago."

Nyssa's eyebrows shot up as she listened, and she interrupted, "I know of Dante, yes. There had been whispers he was killed in Star City perhaps three years ago, so I'm guessing those whispers weren't simply idle chatter. I've heard only a limited amount of information concerning the leadership of the Ninth Circle around that time, and since." She fell silent so that Felicity could continue.

"Right," agreed Felicity as she set about cleaning up after the soon to be four year old as she watched her favorite TV show in the background. "Anyway, Emiko had a vendetta against Oliver and his family, and was determined to kill him. When the Ninth Circle discovered she was using the attack on Star City as an excuse to carry out her vendetta, they tried to kill her, and eventually succeeded. However, in the process, they have targeted Oliver's family, and from what I hear they aren't the sort to give up on a kill order like that."

"No, they're not," confirmed Nyssa. She pushed her hair back and glanced around the innocuous café she was sitting in. "So what is Oliver doing in the meantime to safeguard you from them, and what is it that you need my help with?"

Felicity's breath caught in her throat at that question, and she felt tears streaming from her eyes slowly. It took her several seconds to get her voice back to reply, "You don't know. Do you remember the weird happenings and the panic from three years ago? I don't know how much you know about it, but there was this…this crisis that threatened the entire multiverse. That's what the Monitor called it, anyway. Anyway, to make a long story short, Oliver made a deal to secure the lives of two of our friends so they wouldn't die during this thing, but in return he had to help this Monitor. He held up his end of the bargain and he…he…"

Nyssa could hear the choked off words and the sobbing that followed. At one time, she would have considered such things intolerable weaknesses, but she'd learned over the years that Felicity was made of much sterner stuff, and far stronger than she seemed. A wave of sympathy washed through her for Felicity. "And he died," she finished for the young woman in a soft voice. "I'm so sorry, Felicity. I know our relationship hasn't always been the most amenable or congenial, but I speak the truth when I say I grieve with you. Oliver, you, Thea, all of you are as my family now, and have been."

The sound of sniffling was loud for a moment, and finally Felicity replied in a stuffy sounding voice, "Thank you. There's something else you don't know, something not even Thea knows yet. We wanted to tell everyone, we were going to tell everyone before…before it happened, but we held back. It was for everyone's safety, but especially for Mia's safety. That's why I need your help."

Now Nyssa was confused, but if her suspicions were right, this would mean a lot more than she had initially thought. The former assassin felt realization was dawning on her even as she asked, "Felicity…who is Mia? What was for her safety, and what do you require my help for, exactly?"

A long silence followed, during which there were the muffled and indistinct sounds of a small child speaking in the background. Finally, Felicity's voice came back, "Mia…is Oliver and mine's daughter. She'll be four the day after tomorrow, and she needs to learn how to take care of herself, to protect herself. You once said the League started teaching you at a really early age, and God help me, Mia needs that education. I need you to teach and train my little girl. Please, Nyssa? I can't let my little girl die."

The former assassin's face softened as she listened. She knew the Ninth Circle would slaughter both Felicity and her daughter, no matter the age, without a second thought. Her face hardened, and she spoke in soft but measured tones, "We did, yes. Of course I'll teach her. Like you, she is family. No one shall harm her, this I swear on my blood."

Again, Felicity felt the weight of despair lift from her shoulders and she drew Mia into her arms tightly, and held her against her. "Thank you, Nyssa. I don't know how to say…I don't know how I'll repay…" Mia was unaware of what was going on, so she gently wiped at her mother's cheek and gurgled, trying to make Felicity laugh.

"You need not say anything, nor do you need to repay anything, Felicity. The child will be safe, I swear to you. As will you," replied Nyssa with a quiet but firm tone. "Please have John meet me at the airport. I will be arriving at approximately midnight, your time. Tomorrow, we shall begin. We will forge her into a weapon as strong as her parents, and as sharp as them as well. She need never suffer harm at the hands of anyone. She will honor you both, and make you very proud."

Felicity thanked her, and after a couple of moments, she hung up the phone and sat in the floor with Mia, playing games with her. The child asked her what was wrong, and she answered her that everything was going to be fine, they would be fine. "I love you, Honeybun."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN** \- While writing this, I realized that the chapters are turning out quite a bit shorter than most chapters in the works I do. I apologize for that, and for the fact that this story will probably be quite a bit shorter than most of my works. The flow of the story influences the length of the chapters, as well as the length of the story as a whole. Unless I go into excruciating and repetitive detail, the story can only go on so long. In any event, I hope you enjoy the tale as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Thank you for reading!

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 2**

The next morning was like most others for Felicity and Mia. They woke up, got up, got dressed, brushed their teeth, all the normal things that most mothers and daughters do in the morning. The first part of the morning was as uneventful as it could be, and for that Felicity was thankful, as she was everyday when the Ninth Circle wasn't creeping up on them, hell bent on killing them. So far, the safe house that John and Lyla had set her and Oliver up with was exactly that, safe. Four years worth of safety so far under her belt, she felt that she should feel at least somewhat normal for a change.

"Mommy, can I have more juice?" Mia asked as she held up her cup towards her mother with the face of innocence that children possess. It's the face they have before they learn what kind of world they're growing up into, and she marveled at the little girl's sedate enthusiasm and cheer as she did every morning.

Felicity glanced at her plate long enough to another biscuit on it and nodded, "Sure can, sweetheart." With the juice carafe in hand, she came back and filled the little girl's cup once more. Her hand caressed her daughter's cheek lightly as she sat back down. "Tomorrow's your birthday, you know, right? What do you think my little birthday girl will want for her special day's dinner?"

"I'm not a little girl anymore, Mommy. I'm going to be four," Mia replied as she held up four fingers and nodded a confident little nod. As she spoke, she scooped up a fork full of scrambled eggs and cheese rather sloppily and promptly took the bite.

"That's right," agreed Felicity as she paused in her meal to watch her daughter with a light smile on her face. "You're not little anymore at all, are you? Okay, so what would my big girl want for her birthday dinner, hmm? What's your most favorite meal in the whole wide world, huh?"

Mia thought about it for a long moment, going as far as to wrinkle her brow in concentration before suddenly throwing her arms up and with a definitive air declared, "Tacos! Tacos are yummy. I love tacos!" The little girl literally bounced with glee as she thought about what the next night would bring.

A tear threatened to spill out of Felicity's eye as she watched her daughter. While not Oliver's favorite food of all time, tacos scored very high on the list, and they'd frequently eat them. Felicity even craved them regularly while she'd been pregnant with the little bundle of energy so happily expounding on the deliciousness of tacos. Luckily, Felicity had gotten a lot better at cooking over the past few years; otherwise they'd have likely starved. A fond memory of her first attempt at an omelet passed through her mind. It was the memory of an omelet she'd tried to make in Ivy Town and it was so bad, Oliver had jokingly told her, "Felicity Smoak, you have failed this omelet."

Felicity felt her voice cracking a little as she smiled and tried to hide the tear as she replied, "Tacos you say? Then tacos it is. You, my love, are going to spend your birthday rubbing your tummy because its _so_ full of spicy goodness." She reached across the small table and briefly tickled Mia's belly so she squealed and laughed, which made her laugh as well and shortly forget the sad memory.

After a few more moments, when it became clear that Mia had eaten all she was going to, Felicity gathered the dishes and started clearing them away as her daughter amused herself with a toy she'd brought into the kitchen with her. It was amazing how simple, mundane tasks could make you feel as if everything were perfectly normal, at least for the time being.

"Mia," she called out as she finished loading the dishwasher and wiped her hands on a dish towel. "Do you remember when I told you that we had to be careful, because there were bad people out there and that some of them were looking for us?" She sank down to a crouch so she was more on a level with her daughter.

The child nodded softly and seriously and said, "Yes, Mommy, I remember. You said one day, I would have to learn to keep the bad people from hurting us." Her gaze was curious as she looked into her mother's eyes. She didn't completely understand what it meant, or why it was necessary, but her mother said it was, so it must be, she reasoned.

Just then, a light knock sounded from the back door of the quaint house, nestled off the road within a copse of trees. Felicity looked through the window in the door, smiled lightly, and opened the door. The woman, dressed in all black with dark hair, returned the light smile with a slow nod. "Felicity, I came a bit later to allow you and your daughter time to eat your morning meal," she said.

Her voice was quiet, even soft. Then she caught her first sight of Mia, who was approaching her mother. Her eyes moved slowly over the little girl, appraising her. With brows raised, she glanced up to Felicity again and stated, "She exhibits traits belonging to both you and Oliver very strongly. Neither of you are lost in her appearance or demeanor."

Nyssa was oddly to the point, and it was obvious she still hadn't mastered the art of simple normal conversation. Even in delivering a compliment, it was still a tactical assessment of sorts. _Some things never change. Oh well, she wouldn't be Nyssa if she had. It's part of her charm,_ thought Felicity with a mild amusement.

"Thank you," she replied simply. Her small talk skills weren't why she was there. Felicity knelt down to Mia's level and wrapped an arm gently around her shoulders. "Sweetheart, this is Nyssa. She's a very, very good friend of Mommy and Daddy's. She's family, and you can trust her. She's here to show you how to take care of yourself, like we talked about."

The little girl looked up at Nyssa with an appraising gaze of her own and her sharp gaze missed nothing about the woman in front of her. She didn't dress anything like she and her mom dressed, she had some odd things on her person and she didn't sound like anyone she'd ever heard speak before. She liked her voice; it was fun to listen to because it was different.

Finally, her face broke out into a bright and wide smile and she held out her hand, "Hello, Nyssa, I'm Mia. I'm very glad to meet you." She said it with such seriousness and gravity that both women had to work hard not to laugh.

Nyssa gave Felicity a quick glance, then also sank down to Mia's level, and took her hand and shook it. "I'm very glad to meet you as well. I think you will learn your lessons very quickly and very well. It is an honor to be the one to teach you the ways that will enable you to protect yourself and your mother."

Mia smiled again, and looked at her mother. "She talks funny, Mommy," she said in that matter of fact manner that most young children spoke in most of the time. "I like her voice and the way she talks," she finished. She looked back to Nyssa and unabashedly asked, "Why do you talk funny, Nyssa? I've never heard anyone that sounds like you before."

Felicity was mortified. She gasped in shock and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Nyssa, she didn't mean anything mean by it I'm sure."

Nyssa smiled at Felicity and waved a hand as she shook her head. "It's perfectly all right, Felicity. She did nothing wrong. She's merely inquisitive and curious. She speaks her thoughts directly and does not euphemize her thoughts. That's nothing to apologize for."

The former assassin turned her attention back to the child, "I come from a faraway place and the language there is much different than your language. I speak like this because when I was born I learned to speak my people's language, and it sounds different from yours. As part of my education, I learned English from a British teacher. Their voices sound like mine, so I imitated their sound as I learned the words. That's why I speak in such a way that my words sound funny to your ears."

The little girl's smile grew and she laughed excitedly. "That sounds really cool. What does your language sound like?" Mia seemed awestruck to both women as they talked back and forth.

Nyssa thought a moment, trying to think of something that would mean something to Mia. Finally, she said, "My language is pretty difficult to speak at first for younger people, but it gets easier as you become more accustomed to it. Let's think of something simple. In my language, your father was called _Al Sahim._ It means 'The Arrow.' My father called your mother _Al Naar Kabira,_ which means 'The Great Fire.'"

Felicity just sat in silence and amazement. She would never have guessed that Nyssa could be so good with children. She was patient, gentle, understanding, and more, she treated the child as an equal rather than speaking as most do to a child. _Maybe this will go better than I hoped. Mia seems to really like her, and Nyssa seems to feel the same. Who would have thought an assassin could be so good with kids?_

Mia was completely enthralled in discovering more of this whole new facet of the world she had just experienced. She was practically bouncing as she asked, "Why would someone call my daddy the Arrow, and why call Mommy the Great Fire? What would people call me, do you think?"

That got a slight huff of a laugh from both Felicity and Nyssa. Nyssa's eyes sparkled slightly as she lowered her voice as if she were telling a secret, "They called your father that because he was efficient and direct when confronting a problem like an arrow. They called your mother that because she has great passion and drive for those she loves, and things she believes in strongly. As for you…you have a wondrous light and fire about you, and you remind me of both your mother and father, so how about _Al Najim,_ which means 'The Star?'"

Mia repeated the name a couple of times, and she stumbled over the pronunciation once but got it on the second try. "I love it! Thank you, Nyssa. It's so pretty!" The child seemed to be in the clouds and over the moon about the name, and she happily said it to herself several times as she let her mother and Nyssa speak.

"Sweetheart, come with us into the living room, and you can play in your play corner, okay?" asked Felicity as she led Nyssa into the room. The little girl nodded and went to the place she spent most of the day, pulling out the toys she wanted to play with as her mother and Nyssa sat down on the couch.

As they sat down, Felicity handed her guest the cup of tea she'd been making while the assassin had been speaking with Mia. She sipped from her own cup and regarded the woman with her for a moment, and then spoke in a soft, quiet voice, "She's so innocent now, so sweet and untouched by all this. I hate having to put her in the middle of all of this." Her eyes moved back to Mia tinged by a bit of sadness in her otherwise bright blue eyes.

Nyssa's gaze followed Felicity's for a moment as she contemplated the situation and the blonde's request. She regretted that things had come to pass that put all of their family into the positions they found themselves in. "Innocence is a temporary state at best, I fear, Felicity. When the Ninth Circle finally finds you, all her innocence will be gone. The danger will force her into action to protect both of you. What you're doing is assuring that she'll be prepared and ready, as well as capable, of keeping you both safe."

Both women sipped their tea in silence for long moments, and finally Nyssa broke the silence, "You realize that when she begins her training, I can't soften it, and can't go easy on her I hope? I don't do this out of malice, but rather because she _must_ be the absolute best she is capable of being. She must realize her potential in totality. Nothing short of that will do her any good or you for that matter."

Felicity sighed, and looked into her cup for a few seconds. The expression on her face was understandable. She had the look of a mother wishing that she didn't have to subject her daughter to what was to come, but also that she realized that she must if her daughter was going to survive and be safe. She looked up at Nyssa again, and the steel that the assassin had watched evolve over the years came into her eyes. "Don't let me stop you, please, Nyssa. I want her to be as good as you are. I _need_ her to be as good as you are. No matter what, she has to become what she must in order to live."

Nyssa's hand came to cover hers and gave it a gentle squeeze as she met Felicity's gaze with her own. The former assassin's eyes were always intense, had been as long as she could remember, but the intensity in them now was different somehow. "On my life, Felicity, she will not only be as skilled as I am, she will be _better._ But it won't be easy, and it won't be painless. She may grow to hate me, but I will make sure she reaches the potential I know she has."

X

A year had passed, and the young girl was progressing quite well in Nyssa's estimation. She began by teaching her how to stretch and keep herself nimble and mobile, and had taught her to develop and use her dexterity for both stealth and in manual tasks. Later she had started her on more strenuous exercises and even some light weight training. Each task put before her, Mia had surpassed expectations. Sometimes she did so eagerly, and other times she did so in anger, but she always accomplished the tasks as instructed, even if it took her days to master the task.

Finally the day came where she started to teach her the extreme basics of unarmed combat. Nyssa held up her hand and slowly clenched it into a fist. It was different from the sort of fist one usually made when anger was building. "Be careful to tuck your thumb, and to make sure your fist is aligned properly with your bones, like this." She took the young girl's hand and helped her make the fist as instructed.

Once she could make and maintain the fist, Nyssa directed her to a padded bag hanging from a large tree branch. "This is extremely important, Mia, so listen closely, rather than rushing in to do it. Recklessness is your enemy. When you are prepared to strike, keep your fist and arm somewhat relaxed so there's very little tension in your muscles. Execute your strike with your hand and arm still relaxed. Just before impact, tighten your fist and strike through the target. Imagine the place you wish to hit is several inches behind the actual target." She watched the girl's face to make sure that she understood what she had said.

Mia frowned at her a moment in confusion and looked at her fist and then back up at her teacher. "That sounds like it would hurt if you kept your fist loose like that. Wouldn't it break your hand?" She was doubtful at best of the idea of keeping her fist and arm relaxed until she struck something or someone. She trusted Nyssa, but the physics seemed off to her, even though she didn't know what physics were yet.

Nyssa had expected this and smiled lightly. "If you time it wrong, it can definitely hurt, yes. Perhaps even break your hand as you suggested. Yet, keeping your fist and arm relaxed until just at impact allows you to move more fluidly, and faster. The enemy will most likely not even realize you've struck until they feel it. Here, let me show you. Pay special attention to my hand and arm. The rest of the body's movement is important too, but for the moment, just keep your eye on my hand and arm. I'll strike tense first, and then strike the way I'm teaching you next."

The former assassin set her stance the way she'd already taught Mia to do, and concentrated a moment to overcome her natural reflex and inclination to strike properly. Finally, she launched her punch at the bag. A loud thud and smack sounded as her fist struck the bag, but it didn't have much effect otherwise. Her punch had been exceedingly slow and even clumsy looking.

"There, did you see the way my body and punch were affected by the tension in my arm and fist? The contracted muscles were unable to move with any degree of suppleness. Therefore I was slow, clumsy, and my center of gravity was askew. Now, I will punch as I am instructing you to do so."

Mia took notice of everything that had happened, absorbing the details like a sponge. Despite her occasional aggravation, it turned out that she was a natural, inherited from her father no doubt. "Yes, Nyssa, I saw it. To be honest, that was actually a bit painful to watch. I've never seen you move so badly."

Nyssa nodded with a slight amusement to her features. She settled herself so Mia could observe and she lashed out with a punishing strike. It was fast, so fast Mia could barely even see it. Where she struck the bag buckled in sharply and nearly split open. The sound of the impact was loud and sharp. Nyssa breathed in a slow deep breath, and tilted her head slightly as she asked, "Did you see the difference? Which method do you think is superior?"

The young girl was in slight awe as she examined the images in her mind again several times. She nodded emphatically and replied, "I saw it, yes. Just barely. It was faster and more powerful. You nearly split the bag open with that punch. The method you're teaching me is vastly superior."

Nyssa allowed herself a slight grin concealed by the flow of her hair. Even though the girl was only five years old, she had adopted Nyssa's manner of speaking. She hadn't adopted the accent, but she had the advanced vocabulary and precision of speech. At least, she did this when she was training with Nyssa. It was her way of showing the former Daughter of the Demon that she was serious about the art she was learning.

Nyssa's eyes moved towards the house, and saw Felicity in the window, watching. She watched them every day without fail. Nyssa knew it wasn't because she didn't trust the warrior with her daughter; she simply wanted to see the progress Mia was making. Thus far, she'd always spoken of how impressed she was with what they were doing. She spoke of how proud she was of Mia, and her dedication to the instruction.

"_Al Najim,_ practice your tumbling and agility exercises for a while. I will be watching. I must speak with your mother for a few moments. I am very proud of you and your progress. You are doing very well indeed," she told Mia as she watched her a moment further, and then walked towards the house.

X

Felicity handed her the customary cup of tea that she usually presented her with while they were training. They sat in the living room where they could easily see Mia practicing with pure dedication and determination. After they each took a couple of sips of their tea, Felicity allowed herself a small smile and said, "She looks like she's doing pretty well. I'm surprised she's sticking to this as well as she is, and that she hasn't gotten upset about not getting something right a couple of times, or not able to do what she thinks she should be able to do."

Nyssa glanced out the window as well and set her cup down on the coaster. "She's doing extremely well," she answered with more than a little pride coloring her tone. "Oh, she has lost her temper a few times, and if looks were daggers I would sometimes be the mark instead of the assassin. Yet, it just pushes her to do even better. She asks me many questions about Oliver." She laughed very softly for a brief moment, and then resumed sipping her tea.

Felicity tilted her head, and unconsciously pulled the tea cup closer as she curled up tighter in the chair. "She asks you about Oliver?" she asked with a slight quaver in her voice. Her face had gone ashen and it was clear that she hadn't completed her grieving process yet. "What do you tell her?"

Nyssa considered the question a couple of seconds before responding, "I know you don't wish her to know of your activities or identities as Green Arrow and Overwatch, so I don't mention them. Instead, I tell her that Oliver and I used to train together sometimes, and like you had said, both of you were friends with me, and vice versa. She wishes to know what he was like, what kind of man he was, that sort of thing. She simply wishes a way to know the father that she can't remember."

"I wish she didn't have to live without her father. If he hadn't made that goddamned deal with the Monitor, he'd still be here, he'd be a part of her life, she would know her father, she would know how much he loved her," Felicity whispered, drawing even tighter into herself.

The former League member reached across the small table, laid a hand lightly on Felicity's arm, and met her gaze. "Two of your friends were going to die, courageously fighting to save this world, and the universe. They were the epitome of what hope and goodness are. Oliver felt they were more important to the world and needed to inspire them than he was. I don't believe he was right, yet as you know even better than I do, I'm sure, that Oliver was a man of conviction and honor. By saving the universe and the world, he was saving the two of you as well. No price was too high to pay for the safety of those he loved more than anything else in all of creation. You know that far better than I do. How could he do less for his wife and child, his friends that were as family, and the universe itself?"

Felicity slid her glasses off and put them on the table then rubbed the tears from her eyes with her palms. "You're right, I know you're right, Nyssa," she said softly. "I know all that, and I know he'd do it all again without a second thought if he thought it would save us. He was a far better man than he tried to let on that he was. He had darkness inside him, sure. Of course he did. But he wasn't _all_ darkness inside. If he was, he couldn't possibly love anyone. He couldn't be willing to make that sort of sacrifice, despite what he knew it would cost him. I know all that. It just doesn't make it hurt any less."

Nyssa nodded towards the window and they watched Mia for a few moments before the Daughter of the Demon said softly, "He lives on in your memories and heart, and in his son and daughter. You honor him, Felicity. Mia and William are his legacy. He would be proud of you both, I believe. Perhaps he watches over you even now, I don't know what your beliefs are and I mean no intentional insult if I have offended in some way. The pain will never completely fade, I'm sure, but you know that Oliver would want you to continue, to live on, and to stay safe."

Felicity cast a rather surprised look at Nyssa for a moment in silence. She would never have expected her to say such a thing, but especially not in consolation to her. "You haven't offended me in any way, and you're right, Mia and William are his legacy," she said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…you know, do all this. Wow, I seem pretty weak, huh? Just as I always have."

"You are _far_ from weak, Felicity. You have _never_ been weak. There are many forms of strength. Yours is different than mine, not less than mine. It took me a long time to understand that, but it was a lesson you, Oliver and the others taught me," Nyssa said with quiet conviction.

Suddenly, Nyssa stood up, and went into the room she was borrowing and came out looking quite normal in a tee shirt and jeans. "Get Mia inside, and the both of you change," she demanded. "We're going to Coast City."

Felicity was dumbfounded, first at Nyssa's change of wardrobe, and then her statement that they were going to Coast City. She stood up slowly and cleared her throat, "Um, why are we going to Coast City?"

"Because," Nyssa said as she gathered car keys and other things they'd need. "We're going to do something Laurel introduced me to once. I was extremely dubious at first, but it was surprisingly good. They have a Big Belly Burger in Coast City don't they?"

"Yeah, of course they do. Big Belly Burger is pretty much everywhere. Why are we going to Big Belly Burger, except for grease and cholesterol?" asked Felicity, even more confused than before.

"I'm sure you know the ritual, but I think we could all use it. Double cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate milkshakes. Dipping your French fried potatoes into your chocolate shake and eating them is a luxury bordering on the divine that we definitely didn't have in Nanda Parbat," she answered.

"Oh!" said Felicity in sudden understanding. That sounded like Laurel to do something like that. At first, the suggestion didn't seem like it'd do much good, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought Mia might enjoy it and it'd cheer her up in the process. "Let me get Mia changed."

Ten minutes later, they were in the car and already heading towards the highway south to Coast City.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN** – Sorry about the long time between updates. Life happens, you know how that goes. As mentioned before, this story and its chapters are going to be quite a bit shorter than my normal pieces. I'll try to stretch it out as much as I can, and make it interesting along the way, but I don't want it to devolve into tedious and repetitive detail simply for the sake of continuing the story. In any event, I hope you enjoy it and maybe check out my previous work, and the work to come. Thank you for reading!

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 3**

"Where does Nyssa go all the time, anyway?" asked Mia suddenly. The afternoon sun shone through the kitchen window, where she stood against the counter, eating the turkey sandwich she'd made for lunch. Her eyes followed her mother as she started prepping things to start dinner in a few hours.

Felicity paused in her preparations, and looked up at her twelve year old daughter. She would be thirteen in five days, and she was growing fast. She was growing up _too_ fast, Felicity often thought. "What do you mean?" she asked. She arranged the spices she intended to use on the counter, along with the utensils she'd be using as well. Among them was the chef's knife with the imitation bone handle, the same knife Oliver used all the time when he'd cook, and the same knife he picked up to defend their home from a threat one night. However, the "threat" had been the Monitor, the night he'd come to take Oliver away from them, so long ago, or so it felt.

"You know what I mean, Mom," Mia said as she finished the sandwich and cleaned up the mess she'd made during her making her lunch. _Mom's being awfully cagey,_ she thought with a slow, discerning gaze. Aloud, she said, "Nyssa comes; she stays a couple of months, then disappears for a few weeks, and then comes back. Neither of you ever talk about where she goes, why she leaves, what she does while she's gone, or any of that."

Felicity's back was to Mia as she suddenly paused, and took a deep breath. Mia was inquisitive, she always had been, and like her father she would keep digging until she got what she was after. When she finally turned around, she was nervously rubbing her hands before she straightened out her pants, which hardly needed any attention. The blonde took a deep, slow breath, then stepped up to her daughter and cupped the girl's cheeks lightly in her hands as she made eye contact. Felicity's eyes were moist, wetter than usual, but they held her daughter's gaze unwaveringly.

"It's hard to explain, Mia. We've all had to keep so many things secret, so many things that we can't let anyone know about. Nyssa used to belong to a group called the League of Assassins, you remember me telling you about that, right?" Felicity began as she tried to figure out how to explain everything while her mouth had gotten so dry.

Mia frowned as she listened, and watched her mother's eyes. Felicity's hands were still holding her cheeks, and she hadn't moved away. "Yeah, I remember. It's why she knows how to fight so well. It was also a bad group that she says you and some of your friends helped her to realize that what they did was outdated and wrong, so she disbanded the League when she became their leader," Mia stated matter of factly as she processed what she was being told.

When Mia fell silent again so she could continue, Felicity pressed on as she nodded her head, "Yes, that's right. I mean, duh, League of Assassins, 'assassin' being the operative word." Mia was giving her a look that said she was starting to ramble, so Felicity got herself back on track, "Anyway, to get back to the subject at hand, the leaders of the League lived long lives, like _really_ long lives, unnaturally long lives. There was a reason for that. They had these pools with these rock walls, like a natural spring, and they called them Lazarus Pits. These Pits had restorative powers. They could almost instantly heal any wound, and they could extend your life well beyond a normal lifetime. Also, while it had been thought to be a legend by the League itself, it even had the ability to bring the recently dead back to life sometimes. Unfortunately, coming back from the dead exacts a severely high and deadly price."

Her daughter frowned again, and tilted her head. "It sounds like a magical hot tub," she quipped as she listened. She knew that there were strange things out there, listening to her mother and Nyssa, but this was strange even for that. "Okay, so these guys were almost immortal, for all intents and purposes. Judging from what you're saying, though, it sounds like the magic hot tub doesn't keep working forever. You develop what, some sort of immunity to it or something?"

"Something like that," Felicity answered as she withdrew her hands from Mia's cheeks. "The water slowly loses its effect on someone that has used its powers for a really long time, until finally it doesn't work at all anymore. There were several of these things all over the world, and their existence and locations were kept as crazily guarded secrets for millennia."

When she asked the question, she wasn't expecting anything even remotely like the information she was getting. The question she had asked thus far hadn't received an answer. Yet, Mia felt the information must be background on the answer to her question, which made it important, of course. "That sounds like it could be an extremely powerful and terrible weapon in the wrong hands. It makes sense their locations would be so guarded, right?"

Felicity nodded in answer slowly, and placed her hands on the counter to prop herself up. The wood was smooth, and made her feel grounded. "So to answer your original question, Nyssa is looking for the Pits to destroy them. They're much too dangerous to leave out there where they're just waiting for some whacko son of a bitch to find them. So, that's where she keeps disappearing off to," Felicity said with a long slow exhalation.

Mia had been trying to absorb all this information, but it had left her somewhat dumbfounded. She had expected a simple answer to her question, such as she was with her boyfriend or girlfriend, or she had some sort of commitment to someone or something. She had been expecting normal, mundane reasons. The girl certainly hadn't been expecting some esoteric treasure hunt for something so dangerous.

"Wow," she breathed finally as she met her mother's gaze once more. "That…that sounds completely insane and dangerous as hell. She's tackling that sort of thing alone? I mean, I know Nyssa's a bad ass and all, but there's got to be all sorts of nut jobs looking for these things, or something. No matter how close you guard that kind of secret, if there's a legend or some old folk tale about it that anyone could stand an even remote chance of hearing about, _somebody's_ going to believe it's absolutely real and go after it."

Felicity gave her a very faint and wan smile for a moment, and then closed her eyes for a long moment as she drew a couple of deep breaths. "She's not doing it alone," she whispered softly. "Your Aunt Thea and Thea's boyfriend Roy are helping her. They've destroyed several over the years, and think there's only a couple remaining. With any luck, they'll have destroyed them all by the end of next year."

"My Aunt Thea?" slipped from Mia's mouth in almost whispered shock. The look on her face was confused and incredulous as she regarded her mother with a flabbergasted look. "Who's Aunt Thea? I didn't know I had any aunts or anything, other than Uncle John and Aunt Lyla. Is she like a _real_ aunt, or close family friend type like Uncle John and Aunt Lyla?"

Felicity motioned for Mia to follow her and she led her daughter into the living room. She motioned for the girl to sit on the couch and she opened a cabinet, and pulled out a book Mia had never seen in the million times she'd gone into that cabinet for something or other. Felicity came to the couch and sat down next to Mia, holding the book. The book appeared to be full of pictures of some kind, which was definitely different than the method she was used to for storing pictures, namely on her phone, tablet or computer.

"What's this?" she asked her mother as she inspected the odd book visually. It was very thick, and obviously full of the squares and rectangles that held photographs. From its appearance, Mia thought it looked like you manually inserted those photographs yourself. There didn't appear to be any text in the book, just the clunky photographs.

Felicity allowed herself a brief smile and wrapped an arm around her daughter as she opened the book across their laps. "It's a photo album, it's for putting photographs into it so you can store them in a condensed space," she answered. She flipped through a few pages of pictures of many different things looking for a specific photo, though she was letting Mia see the pictures briefly. There were shots of what Mia presumed were Star City, people she'd never met or heard of, and a few shots of her mother and who she assumed was her father.

Finally, Felicity stopped flipping pages and pointed at a picture of a young woman, obviously slender and small, with shoulder length brown hair and a determined expression on her face. "This is your Aunt Thea. Thea Dearden Queen, your father's little sister. You actually remind me a lot of her, like you remind me a lot of your father," Felicity said as she surreptitiously wiped her cheek clean of a tear that fell from her eye under the cover of her hair.

Mia stared at the picture for long moments in silence, listening to her mother. In the picture of her aunt, she could see a resemblance that she bore to Thea, and she had that same determined look that she saw in the mirror on herself many times. "How do I remind you of her, Mom?"

Felicity gave Mia's shoulders a gentle squeeze, and turned her face towards her daughter. She reached up and lightly turned Mia's chin towards her. "You remind me of her because you're both determined and fierce, and stick to what you believe. You're strong, like her, and beautiful, and smart, so much like her in so many ways," she whispered softly. There was no hiding the tears then, she knew. "She protects those she loves, and never gives up, no matter how bad it gets."

Mia reached up slowly, and took her mother's glasses from her face then set them aside on the table. With a gentle touch, she brushed the tears from her mother's cheeks, and embraced her warmly and tightly. Finally, after several moments, she released her grip and sat back. "When can I meet her, maybe?" asked the young girl in a quiet voice.

Felicity wiped her face again, and laid her cheek on her daughter's head. "Maybe one day soon, Honeybun. I'm so sorry I've kept you both from each other for so, so long, but it was to keep you safe, Mia. I hope you and Thea can forgive me," she murmured as they sat, staring at the pictures on the pages.

Silence lingered between the two of them for a long time before Mia looked up at her mother and tilted her head. "Nyssa's never missed my birthday," she said quietly as she gave Felicity another squeeze. "Do you think she'll make it this year?" The three of them had a tradition that they would go to Coast City together and go to Big Belly Burger, or the pizza parlor, or one of the other places and spend the day there, just enjoying themselves.

Felicity smiled and playfully ruffled Mia's hair as she replied, "I believe if there's any way humanly possible, she'll find a way to get here, on time. Don't worry, Sweet Pea, Nyssa's not one to disappoint."

X

Two days before her birthday, Mia woke up yawning and stretching and sat for a moment letting herself start the waking process as she did every morning. She scratched her head as she yawned again and stretched her arms until her shoulders cracked lightly.

"It's about time you woke up, Sleepy Head. I've been sitting here waiting for you to wake for almost two hours. Does _everything_ you learn flee your mind while I'm away?" asked a voice from the corner of her room suddenly.

The sudden voice took Mia by complete surprise. She yelped startled, and leaped out of bed. Along the way, she grabbed the knife she kept concealed at her bedside and whipped it towards the voice in a deadly and precise throw. She had no idea who spoke, or how they managed to get into her room without Mia catching the slightest sound, but they'd wish they had stayed out she thought.

The whistle of the knife slicing through the air stopped abruptly when a black gloved hand caught the blade nonchalantly in mid flight. The figure tilted its head slightly sideways and stated, "Good morning to you as well, _Al Najim._"

Mia's vision cleared of the last bit of sleep as the figure spoke and she stood shocked for a moment and then smiled a huge smile and leaped across the bed to embrace the sitting woman. "Nyssa!" she exclaimed. "You made it back! I thought maybe…"

The former assassin laughed softly, and returned Mia's embrace. "You thought perhaps I would miss your birthday, then?" she asked as her arms released the girl. "I never miss your birthday, and I didn't expect to do so this year, as I have not done since your fourth."

The door suddenly burst open after a flurry of sound, and Felicity called out, "Mia! Mia! Are you okay? What hap—?" Felicity laid the knife she had in her hand on the dresser and pushed her hand back through her hair sleepily as she met eyes with Nyssa. "Oh! It's you! I thought that, well I thought that the Ninth Circle had…oh, never mind! How are you?"

Conversation wasn't Felicity's strong suit the first thing in the morning, especially if she hadn't had her prerequisite coffee, Nyssa knew. The assassin's face held only the slightest hint of amusement, though she was laughing heartily on the inside. "I'm well, thank you. I see this one has gotten rather lazy in my absence. Have you been lazy in your practicing as well, _Al Najim?_"

Mia scowled and shook her head vehemently as she started getting dressed. "No, I've practiced every day, just like you told me. I've actually put more time into practice than you told me to," she said firmly. She wasn't angry, she was used to Nyssa's attitude when it came to training, and so thought little of it. It was a holdover from when she was part of the League. Nyssa was obsessive about training and perfection.

Nyssa's eyes glittered and the corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly. "We shall see, _Al Najim._ We shall see."

X

Mia's foot sailed past Nyssa's jaw by a mile, never coming close to it. She immediately jumped and spun to deliver a second kick, as she hoped to take Nyssa by surprise. Instead, the assassin had dropped her stance low, reached up to grab Mia's ankle, and suddenly spun towards her leg to deliver a punishing spinning elbow strike to the girl's hip and lower ribs. The impact felt like it crumpled her in half and she fell heavily to the ground, winded.

When Mia hit the ground, and raised her head, fighting to take a breath, she extended a hand down to help her student back to her feet. Mia's face contorted in anger, and she slapped Nyssa's hand aside as she struggled to her feet. She found her footing and prepared herself for her next attack. So far during this sparring session, she hadn't managed to land a single blow to Nyssa. The assassin countered her at every turn. The blonde girl was determined to hit her at least once, and her frustration at not being able to do so thus far was building.

Felicity winced as Nyssa's elbow struck Mia and sent her down to the ground. As usual, she was watching from the window, and she felt sympathy pains for her daughter. As much as it hurt her to stand and watch Mia get hurt without taking any sort of action, Felicity knew it was for her own good, and that Nyssa wasn't trying to harm her, she was trying to get something through Mia's head. She was as stubborn as Oliver at times, and she had his temperament as well, it seemed. Nyssa, however, seemed unaffected by the glares and snarls Mia made towards her at these moments.

Suddenly, Mia lunged forward in a savage attack. Her right hand shot forward to strike Nyssa across the face with a ridge hand, which would set her up for a punishing series of strikes Mia intended to follow up with. She moved exceptionally fast, barely able to see her own hand because it was nearly invisible due to her speed. Mia felt the tickle of Nyssa's hair against her hand and she knew she was going to meet the resistance of her face in the next split second. She was sure of it. She would _finally_ land an actual strike against her teacher.

Mia's perception crumbled to dust immediately. When the strike neared Nyssa's cheek, she had ducked, widening her stance enough that the ridge hand sailed right over her head. Nyssa then rocked on the balls of her feet, to shift her force forward, and funneled it into her right palm, which struck a driving strike straight into Mia's solar plexus. The force and impact sent the girl flying backwards several feet before landing on her backside and skidding across the ground.

The strike hit Mia like a runaway train. The pain was so sudden she barely realized she'd been hit until she felt herself sailing backwards through the air. Then the pain hit, all at once, all over her body. It was as if she'd found herself in a trash compactor, the pain was that uniform and complete, and she couldn't breathe. Just then, she felt herself hit the ground and slide backwards, to finally end up lying face up on the ground, wishing that she were dead, instead of feeling every nerve center in her body crying out in pain.

She coughed convulsively, desperately trying to force air into her lungs once more. The edges of her vision were closing in and red splotches dotted the edges of her sight. Vaguely, she saw the hand Nyssa extended towards her to help her up, and this time she didn't refuse it. She grabbed the assassin's hand weakly and pulled herself into a sitting position. Mia gasped and wheezed for several moments as she coughed violently, trying to regain the ability to breathe.

When Felicity saw the brutal strike Mia suffered, she came running from the house with the water bottle that Mia often drank from during training, and knelt down by her daughter's side. She glanced up at Nyssa, but her expression wasn't one of anger or disbelief, it was more concerned than anything. She offered Mia some water, which she was eventually able to accept. She sipped lightly and shallowly as she slowly regained the use of her lungs.

For her part, Nyssa had what most would read as a stoic and inscrutable expression, yet someone that knew her as well as Felicity did could see the concern in her eyes as well. She felt torn between her feelings and role as friend and aunt figure to the young girl, and her role as the girl's teacher and mentor, that much was obvious to Felicity. She was training Mia to fight and survive. She knew the assassin couldn't afford to pull her punches. If anything, she had to be more strict and relentless than she would be with anyone else.

Nyssa allowed Mia to get to a point where she could breathe once more, and wasn't in so much pain she couldn't concentrate on a single thought or formulate an answer. She never allowed her expression to waver as she asked quietly, "Analyze the fight carefully. Tell me why you were unable to strike me."

Felicity could read the pain Nyssa caused herself by striking Mia so hard, but she could also read the knowledge that it was necessary. She remained silent, attempting to offer Nyssa support for the obvious pain it had caused her to strike Mia so hard.

Mia seethed in silence for a long moment. Though one could think she was pissed off at Nyssa, both women knew she was angrier with herself. Finally, she spoke through gritted teeth, "You're faster, stronger, more skilled and more experienced. You're a lot better than I am…for the moment. I'll get better."

Nyssa sighed softly, so softly it was almost indiscernible. She shook her head slowly and met Mia's gaze. "I didn't defeat you, _Al Najim._ You defeated yourself." When it was obvious Mia was about to ask how, she continued before Mia spoke, "You telegraphed your attacks. I've told you to always keep your eyes on the eyes of your opponent. From that point, with your peripheral vision, you can see their entire body and the immediate area around them. You looked where you were intending to strike.

"In addition, you thought and planned, rather than letting instinct guide you and reacting adaptively and accordingly. The brain power and time it takes to think slows your reflexes and reactions immensely, as much as two seconds in some instances. It also hampers your speed and accuracy. These are some of the most difficult lessons to learn because these behaviors that work against you are ingrained into everyone, and they are also some of the ones that will most greatly affect your ability and survivability."

The girl listened carefully to what Nyssa said, and absorbed the information with care. She was determined to never let that happen to her again, not if she could help it. Mia took a deep breath and looked up at her teacher with steel in her eyes, "I'll beat these lessons into myself if I have to. I won't be repeating these mistakes. I won't fail again."

As Felicity rubbed her daughter's shoulders, Nyssa shook her head. "You didn't fail, Mia," she said softly. "You have never failed in anything I've taught you thus far. You have made mistakes, yes, but mistakes are tools we use to learn. They teach us what we need to improve upon or change to ensure better results the next time. You have made me very proud of you, _Al Najim._ Never torture yourself over mistakes you incorrectly perceive as failures. Mistakes are only failures if you do not learn what they teach you."

Mia considered what Nyssa said, and looked over at her mother. Felicity looked up at Nyssa for a moment, and then nodded softly at Mia. The girl nodded back and spoke more softly, "I'll do my best to learn from my mistakes. I have to learn to be strong, but I also want to be worthy of what you teach me, rather than be a disappointment."

Nyssa allowed the tiniest upwards curl of the corners of her lips. "Your best is a considerable effort. You are strong, and you are definitely worthy of my teachings. You have never, and could never, disappoint me, _Al Najim._ You are my family, and are more dear to me than I could explain to you. Blood does not bind us all, perhaps, but the essence of what is family does."

She and Felicity helped Mia stand up again. She wobbled slightly because her chest was killing her and she tried not to be noticed wincing at the pain. Nyssa brushed a hand over her cheek for the briefest of moments and said, "Now, I believe we have a birthday celebration to enjoy. How does Coast City pizza and ice cream sound? Perhaps something else you'd enjoy doing as well?"

Mia wrapped an arm around Felicity's waist, and the other around Nyssa's as they headed inside to get cleaned up. "Sounds great to me," she said. "I love you, Mom. I love you, Nyssa."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, but Nyssa watched Mia until she disappeared up the stairs, and she watched Felicity gathering jackets and such as she allowed herself a light smile. _As I love both of you, Al Najim. I do not know how to say it with words, but perhaps you may see it through other means._ Finally, she moved up the stairs to change her own clothes.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 4**

"Where do you think we're going _this_ year, Mom?" asked Mia as she brushed her hair firmly with the brush Nyssa had given her for her last birthday. They'd gone to Coast City for pizza and ice cream, and like every birthday, it was a fond memory for the young girl. She enjoyed her training, mostly, with Nyssa, but the former assassin was more fun than you'd think at first glance. It wasn't _all_ getting her ass kicked when Nyssa was around, at least.

Felicity felt the corners of her lips rise slightly at the question. She turned towards her daughter from the laundry she had been putting into the basked, and shrugged. "You never know with Nyssa, sweetheart," she replied. She moved to where Mia stood before the mirror, took the brush from her daughter's hand, and began brushing her daughter's hair. The golden strands were somewhere between wavy and curly, and could often prove a challenge to mold into something resembling a presentable and groomed appearance.

It was two days before the young girl's fourteenth birthday. By that time, Nyssa had usually made it to the sequestered safe house, and reviewed Mia's progress since her last hands on training, which was often a couple of months prior to Mia's birthday. However, this year, she hadn't made her appearance as of yet. That wasn't like Nyssa at all, but she figured traveling back and forth between the US and Europe as well as the Middle East could sometimes complicate travel schedules.

Mia looked up at her and her mother's reflection in the mirror and watched her mother's face for a moment as Felicity continued to brush her hair with long, slow, even strokes. She furrowed her brows, and the skin bunched between them. "You don't think…you don't think something happened, do you? Like something bad?" she asked quietly. She couldn't imagine the former assassin meeting anyone or anything she couldn't handle, but there was always a first time for everything.

Felicity paused in mid stroke, and ran her fingers lightly through her daughter's golden hair. After a moment, she shook her head slowly and firmly, and answered, "I don't think anything's happened, no. It's no guarantee, but I think there would be very little that can stop Nyssa Al Ghul. It'd have to be something _extremely_ bad to keep Nyssa away, I think." She went to brush Mia's hair more, but paused in mid movement. Her eyes met her daughter's in the reflection. "If it will make you feel better, I'll call her if she isn't here by morning. We've prepared several ways to reach each other if necessary."

Mia nodded softly, though her brow didn't relax much. She wasn't sure why she was so worried, but Nyssa had taught her to listen to her instincts, to trust them even if what the world told her said the opposite. Nyssa taught her to not simply follow her instincts blindly, but rather to weigh what they told her heavily in her decisions. She taught Mia to let her instincts guide her, so when she had a gut feeling, she kept whatever she had that feeling about prominently in her mind. "That would be great, Mom. Thanks."

The two women kept each other company in silence for several minutes as Felicity finished brushing Mia's hair, and then sat back down on the bed. Her eyes roamed over her daughter as the girl looked for something on her dresser. Whatever it was, she was looking for it with a quiet determination. In moments like those, she could see Oliver so strongly in her. The way she set her jaw, the slight frown she'd get, the glint of steel in her eyes, all of it spoke to her so strongly of Oliver that sometimes she could swear she could see him standing behind and over Mia, looking over his daughter's shoulder proudly, like any father worth his salt would.

_Oliver_ would _be proud of her, I think. Sure, she looks a bit like me, more so than she looks overtly like him, but her personality, her soul is so much like his. She's a fighter, a survivor, and so very strong! She's smart, and bright, but her intelligence is different from mine. She's brilliant in the same ways he was, good at the same sort of things he was, and has that drive and fire that Oliver had so strongly in him. What did she get from me, really? A few facial similarities, maybe?_ she thought as she let her mind wander as her eyes followed Mia's movements.

_She is her father's daughter, there's no doubt there. I wish so much that she could have gotten to know him, to feel the love that he felt for her, to know without question that nothing and no one would ever hurt her while he lived and breathed. Then she wouldn't have to become the person she's becoming, she would be free to choose her own path, and wouldn't feel obligated to have to be the living weapon she has to be like Oliver had to be when he came back from that damned island._

She sighed to herself and took her glasses off, so she could wipe the tears from her cheeks before Mia turned around and saw them in her eyes and on her face. _But, even with all that, or maybe because of all that, he'd be proud of her I believe. I know that even though she doesn't share that much in common with me, I'm proud of her. She's working so hard to be like her father, and she doesn't even know it, not really. She doesn't know any of her family, not really. John, Lyla, Laurel, and Nyssa. Mom doesn't even know about her. Still, I think they'd all be proud of her. She's accomplished a lot in fourteen years._

Mia turned after finding the thing she was looking for. The object she'd been searching for was a ring that her mother had given her. Her mother had worn in college, when she'd been a much different person than the Felicity she knew now. It always made her feel closer to her mom, like no matter where she was, she was always near Felicity.

The young girl caught a glimpse of Felicity's face, her expression, and the fact that she seemed to have been about to cry. _Maybe she's thinking about dad. I know she misses him. I don't have memories of him, not really. I do remember flashes of feeling, though. I remember feeling safe, and calm, whenever he held me. Mom has told me a million times about how he left because he had to, that he was doing it to save people. Why it had to be him I don't understand. Couldn't someone else have been able to do it, maybe even do it better? He was just a guy, a guy with a family. It's not as if he was Superman or anything._

She wanted to talk to her mother, to try to soothe her, as Felicity had done for her countless times in her life. She didn't know what to say, though. Mia wasn't sure of what, exactly, was making her mother feel this way. She had a couple of guesses, but she didn't know for sure, and she didn't want to try to assure her about one thing when it was something else entirely that was weighing heavily on her heart.

Instead, she stood next to her mother and held her against her with one arm for a long moment. She hoped Felicity knew she was trying to tell her she'd be there for her. Since she'd been training with Nyssa, she never noticed Nyssa showing a lot of emotion, so she wasn't sure how to deal with it. Oh, she'd seen Nyssa smile, laugh, and that sort of thing, but she'd never seen a strong display of emotion from her. She'd always seen a lot from her mother, but Felicity had always told her that she had to keep her wits about her at all times, that she had to be aware of everything around her. As a result, she wasn't sure how to really react emotionally. It was one thing to feel something, and yet another to show it.

Mia tried to react and adapt and to show the empathy she felt inside, but she always felt far out of her depth. She wasn't completely emotionless by any means; she just didn't feel natural talking about or trying to deal with feelings that ran deep, as Felicity's were at that moment. She bent and kissed the top of her mother's head and released her. "I'm going to go out to the car and get my tablet. I forgot it when we got back this afternoon," she said quietly as she gave her mother a light squeeze before letting her go.

X

The sky was surprisingly clear, especially since it was supposed to rain for the next couple of days. Mia stood on the porch steps and stared up at it for a long moment. She figured that if she gave her mom a few minutes, she'd be able to get herself together. Felicity hated letting Mia see her upset, and Mia knew it. She'd always put on such a strong front, projected an air of toughness, but Mia knew that underneath that were the feelings that you didn't want someone to see, but that fueled that strength you tried to convey.

After a couple of moments, she knew she could only stall so long. She resumed her path and headed towards the car. The night was quiet, serene even, and the air was cool and brisk. The light of the half moon shone down and very palely illuminated the yard with its flower gardens, and the training equipment that she used every single day. She loved the night, there was just something about it that she couldn't put into words, and she and her mother would often sit outside for hours talking at night. It was dark, but the pale light from the moon was calming, and it helped her to regain her focus when she'd sit outside and think.

She hadn't taken three steps when something made the back of her neck prickle. Mia knew from her training that the sensation was your mind and body's way of trying to tell you something, usually to warn you. Without hesitation or thinking, she suddenly shifted her center of gravity and spun. Her leg came up as she did so, preparing to thrust a kick into whoever was behind her to stun them and she could figure out how big of a threat they were.

Mia's eyes widened in surprise as the shadowy figure behind her fluidly stepped back out of range of the kick, and then raised its right arm to block the left handed strike Mia threw coming rapidly at its head. The shadow spun with amazing speed to bring its elbow upwards towards the girl's face, and Mia just barely managed to block it and avoid a powerful strike. The instant her block touched the shadow's elbow, it moved again, spinning once more as its right foot rose from the ground like a rocket to strike Mia in the lower ribs of her left side.

Mia felt the air rush out of her, and she gritted her teeth against the intense pain she felt. The anger inside her, the same anger that Nyssa constantly told her would be her undoing if she didn't learn to control it, surged towards the surface rapidly. With a growl, she leaped into the air, and turned her body where it tilted dramatically towards the ground, and spun. Her right foot rushed towards the shadow, and caught a glancing blow off its forehead, and she came to rest on her feet. She immediately punched at the form, aiming for its face. Her fist shot towards its target like a rocket.

She instantly realized that was a mistake. The shadow dropped with amazing speed, and its foot struck her ankle at the weakest point in her stance, and caused her to lose her balance and tip backwards. Before she even registered the fact that she had been propelled backwards, the shadow flashed forward in a leap, and twisted in the air, grabbing the girl's arm in the grip of its legs and hands. Its legs wrapped around her arm, and its calf crossed and pressed into her throat under her chin. The shadow's hands immobilized her wrist. The shadow exerted enough pressure to make her think twice about trying to break free unless she was absolutely sure she could do so on the first try.

"Whoa, kid, take it easy," the shadow said. Its voice was quiet, a little raspy, and definitely feminine. The pressure never wavered. "I'm not here to hurt you or your mother. Now, if you think you can relax and get up peacefully, I'll let go and we can stand up together, okay? If you don't think you can, we'll stay here like this until you can, or you pass out, it's your choice."

Mia clenched her teeth in anger, and growled in frustration. As well as she had learned her lessons so far from Nyssa, this person had managed to beat her easily. She knew she still had a long way to go, but finding herself beaten so handily was extremely humbling. Mia vowed to work even harder. Finally, she nodded and patted the ground with an open hand.

The shadow waited a moment, and then relaxed her grip slowly, and let the young girl up. As they stood, Mia noticed that the woman was small, slender, and very agile looking. She couldn't see her face very clearly, and she was dressed in all black. Mia rubbed her shoulder as she scowled at the woman, and hissed, "Okay, you said you're not here to hurt us. Fine. Who the hell are you and why the hell _are_ you here?"

Before the woman could answer her, the door exploded open and Felicity came bursting through it. "What the hell is go—" she froze as she saw the woman standing there with Mia, looking much like a deer in the headlights. She flipped the porch light on, and stared at the woman a bit before her face slowly morphed into a grin.

Now Mia was certainly confused. Her mother apparently knew this woman, even though she herself had never seen her before. The young girl watched with a frown as they neared the house where her mother was on the porch. As they moved into the light where Mia could get a good look at her face, her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She _had_ seen the woman before. She had seen her in a photo album her mother had shown her a year ago.

Felicity grabbed the woman and hugged her tightly, to which the woman reciprocated. Felicity excitedly waved Mia into the house as they all went inside, and Mia shut the door behind her. The young girl was speechless. She couldn't process enough thought to actually form words. Meanwhile, her mother was going into total spaz mode.

"Oh, my God, I can't believe it! You're here! How did you find out? Did Nyssa tell you? Of course she told you. It was either her, John or Lyla. You look amazing, you always look amazing, doesn't she look amazing, Mia?" rattled Felicity rapidly as she waved everyone further into the house. She crossed the threshold into the living room, still waving excitedly, and babbling some still.

Thea smiled fondly, and shook her head. Despite everything she knew that Felicity must have gone through all these years, she was still the same woman she adored. She was relieved to see that. "I'm here, yeah, of course I'm here. I'm just sorry I didn't make it sooner. And no, Nyssa didn't tell me." She moved into the living room with Felicity and Mia and took a seat as her sister in law waved her down.

Mia was still trying to muster enough coherence to actually speak because she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Meeting her aunt was a moment she'd been waiting for, and now that it was here, she couldn't believe it. She was actually considering pinching herself to see if it was even real, or some crazy dream. It was just too strange, and now that she knew who the woman was, she felt awkward that she'd reacted so strongly.

"Then how did you know we were here?" asked Felicity as she went and grabbed a soda each for the three of them. She sat on a chair, but at the very edge of it instead of leaning back and relaxing. She glanced over at Mia, hoping that her daughter was happy to finally meet her aunt, but she couldn't really read the expression the girl had at that moment.

Thea glanced over to where Mia was sitting on the couch with her, but was as far from Thea as she could possibly get, and the expression she wore was enigmatic. She glanced between the two women for a moment and then her voice softened, "Ollie told me. This Monitor guy, or Mar Novu, or whatever the hell he called himself, had him going all over the place and finding some weird stuff that he supposedly needed for the big Crisis thing. He was in Nanda Parbat, and happened to stumble across me. Anyway, we had a chance to talk a little, and he told me about what happened, what he was doing and why he was doing it." She paused, and then looked over at Mia again, but this time she let her gaze on the girl linger.

"He told me about you, too, Mia. Holy shit, you look _so_ much like your mom. I can see a lot of Ollie in you too. I've waited a very, very long time to meet you. I'm so sorry it took this long, but we're finally done with the Lazarus Pit thing. So, I thought I'd take a break from what I've been doing in Nanda Parbat and come see you guys," she said as she laid her hand on the cushion between them.

Felicity's grin only continued to grow as she watched the two of them for a moment. Mia's face was finally softening and becoming animated again, but she was still struggling for words, it seemed. She finally decided she should try to break up the obvious tension in the room. "Mia, Honeybun, this is your Aunt Thea. You remember me showing you pictures of her near your last birthday, right?"

Mia's eyes passed back and forth between the two of them, and she nodded softly and spoke in a quiet voice, "Yes, Mom, I remember. I've wanted to meet you for a really long time too…Aunt Thea. It is okay if I call you that, isn't it? I'm sorry about outside, too. I wasn't expecting anyone to be out there. Where's Nyssa? Did she come with you?"

Felicity grew concerned listening to her daughter. She'd never heard her speak as hesitantly as she was at that moment. Was the shock of meeting someone so close to her dad really that strong? Was she afraid that she didn't measure up in Thea's eyes in some way? Was she afraid that Thea would reject her? Was she afraid that Thea wouldn't like her, and it was important to her for her father's sister to like her?

Thea laughed, and then as quick as a striking cobra, she scooted closer to her niece and grabbed her up into a tight hug, and kept her close for several moments. "Can you call me that? Girl, you'd _better_ call me that. I missed out on so much of your life, and I'm so sorry. The picture your dad showed me was of you, your mom and your dad together when you were just a little baby. Oh my God you were so cute! And now, here you are, nearly grown, and so beautiful. Nyssa says you're quite the student, too. Judging from outside, I'd say she's right. Oh, and no worries about that. Don't even trouble yourself with it. I'd have been worried if you hadn't been so alert and cautious."

Mia returned the embrace, uncertainly at first, but she warmed to it pretty quickly, and hugged Thea tightly. When they released each other, she sat back and glanced at her mother before asking, "Does this mean that you'll be coming around more often? I'd really like it if you did. Mom's told me a lot about Dad, and so has Nyssa, but I'd like to hear more about him, and about you too, Aunt Thea."

Thea patted Mia's knee and took Felicity's hand in hers for a brief squeeze. "You're on, kiddo. I'll be here as much as I can, and I'm going to try my absolute hardest to make sure it's as often as I can. Better make sure you rest well tonight, because I think Nyssa's got plans for you tomorrow or the next day."

X

The crack of the wooden swords against one another was loud in the secluded yard surrounding the cabin that Mia had called home all her life. She and Nyssa were sparring, so Nyssa could gauge the skills she should have been working on since her last appearance. Mia's movements were fast and sure, and the technique was very good. It still needed work, but Nyssa was satisfied at the stage it was in at the time. She was sure Mia knew that she'd be drilling those techniques as much as she was expected to any others.

"Good, good _Al Najim._ That's right. Keep your grip firm, but relaxed at the same time, much how you keep your fist and arm when you deliver a strike. Don't try to hold the hilt parallel to the knuckles of your hand. Make sure that your grip is cross palm, so that you don't have to flex your wrist as much. It will give you more speed, more precision, and more control. Good, that's it. Remember that with a sword such as this, the blade's design is for cutting, not hacking. You're not chopping down a tree, you're cutting an opponent," she instructed as the wooden blades continued to snap and crack against one another as they wove intricate patterns of footwork along with the techniques of the swords themselves.

Mia nodded in understanding, and corrected her grip and her technique as Nyssa instructed. Her mood was light, compared to how it sometimes was when she was feeling frustrated. She didn't seem nearly as uptight today as she had been several times during her last visit. Nyssa was glad to see it as such.

Felicity and Thea stood nearby, out of the way, and leaned on the hood of the SUV that Nyssa had arrived in the evening before. Thea watched carefully, and shook her head with a smile. "She's good and she learns quickly. She actually fights quite a bit like Ollie, too, though of course mixed with some of Nyssa's particular style as well. I think Ollie would be so proud of her, he'd damned near pop," she said with a soft laugh.

Felicity laughed along with her and nodded as she laced her fingers together while leaning on her forearms on the hood. "I think you're right. Mia was his world. She's so much like him, in so many ways, Thea. She has his strength," she mused as they continued to watch the pair of them.

Thea took her eyes off the sparring pair and looked her sister in law in the eye. "She is a lot like Ollie, that's true," she said as she squeezed Felicity's shoulder. "But it's not just _his_ strength that she has. She's got _your_ strength, too, and she's as smart as a whip. She's a lot like _you_ too."

Meanwhile, Nyssa stepped in, twisting her blade and lifting it and Mia's blade upwards, and then reversed it, and rolled it in her hand to deliver a harsh blow that would have split Mia's head open like a melon had it connected and had the wooden sword been steel. Mia froze in position when she realized that she would effectively be dead in a real fight. Her lips were set in a hard line, and it was obvious she was growing frustrated again. She tried very hard not to be, but her temper often got the better of her, despite Nyssa's millions of warnings about how dangerous letting such emotions cloud her judgment and her reactions could be.

Nyssa held up her hand, and lowered her weapon. She had seen the expression on Mia's face, and the tension in Mia's upper body. "Mia," she began in a quiet voice. Her eyes moved over the young girl's face slowly. "It's obvious that something is bothering you. Come, sit with me, and let us talk about it, if you wish to talk, that is." She moved to a patio table that was nearby and sat in one of the cushioned chairs, waiting for Mia to do the same.

Mia set her practice sword aside, and followed Nyssa to the table. More than once, she glanced in the direction of her mother and aunt, and finally sat down. Her eyes cast to the ground first, and then to the table, where her fingers were tugging at the metal frame holding the tempered glass tabletop. Several seconds passed, and then finally she looked up at Nyssa. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, when she said, "I don't know, really. Maybe it shouldn't be bothering me. It's nothing, but no matter how much I try to clear my mind, it won't go away."

Nyssa's eyes followed Mia's, and then she turned her attention to the girl. "Does it have something to do with Thea? She is your father's sister, and yet to you, she's a stranger still. It will take time to become accustomed to her, and her presence, Mia. She is your family, and she adores and loves you. She would both kill and die for you, if either became necessary, without the slightest hesitation. You are aware of this, yes?"

Mia sighed softly and nodded. She bent to grab several blades of grass and slowly and methodically tore them into tiny pieces before letting them drop to the ground again. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I know she's Dad's sister, and she's family. I know that Mom cut us off from almost everyone to keep both of us safe," she said with an almost defeated tone. "Still, she's known about me for almost fourteen years, and she's never came, never called, or anything. Why?

"And then there's the whole thing about Dad telling her about me. He was supposed to be gone, saving the fucking universe, or whatever the hell was supposed to be going on, but he was out there, fetching stuff like a well trained dog for this Monitor guy? The way Mom described it, it's kind of like he was saying his good byes because he was going to be completely gone, or dead or something. But he was in Nanda Parbat, telling Aunt Thea about me and showing her pictures and shit? Why wasn't he _here_ with us? Did he just not want us anymore?" The anger rising in her was burning hot, and it was like a physical living thing.

Nyssa looked up to where Felicity and Thea were still talking, and then set her jaw carefully, and looked at Mia intently as she reached over and laid her hand on the young girl's forearm. "I want you to listen to me, and listen _carefully, Al Najim._," she said firmly, but not without affection in her voice as well. Mia nodded softly and fixed her attention on her teacher.

Nyssa took a deep breath and released it slowly, and her gaze bored into her student with the intensity of dark suns. "Oliver Queen, _Al Sahim,_ your father, was a very complicated man. He could be stubborn, obstinate, and even infuriating. Other times, he could be downright arrogant and pig headed. However, for all his faults, he was also honorable, loyal, and probably one of the deepest feeling individuals I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was many things, some good, some bad, but he never ever wavered in his love for his friends, for his family, and especially for your mother and yourself. You were Oliver's entire world. I didn't have to see it firsthand to know it to be true, because I knew Oliver.

"Your father never did _anything_ in half measures," she continued, making sure she still had Mia's attention. "I've never seen anyone love more deeply and more surely than your father did for those that were dear to him. He loved your mother, and you, with the same passion and intensity that I loved my beloved, Sara. We had many disagreements and differences of views and opinions, your father and I. It would be fair to say that when we first met, we bloody well hated each other, I think.

"Yet, circumstances put us together in situations where we required the other's help, and where we had to work together towards a common goal, instead of work against one another. We formed a bond, a friendship that went beyond simple friendship, we became as family. This is true of others in your parents' circle of friends and myself as well. But one thing I can tell you assuredly, unequivocally, and irrefutably is that your father lived and breathed for your mother and yourself. Never, ever allow yourself to believe, even for the tiniest fraction of time, that your father left because he wished to leave, and that he didn't want you. _Nothing_ could be _further_ from the truth."

Mia let Nyssa's words sink into her very soul. She realized that while she was angry, she wasn't truly sure of what or whom she was angry with. The intensity and conviction of Nyssa's words still resonated within her long moments after she had stopped speaking. Finally, she nodded, and looked up at the former assassin. "I get it, I do. I don't know what I feel to be honest. I just know all this is rolling around in my head, and I don't know what to do with it."

The slightest upwards curling of Nyssa's lips came over her face as she touched Mia's shoulder and she stood. She glanced towards Felicity and Thea, and then said, "Then perhaps it's a good thing we're going to celebrate your birthday a little differently this year. Maybe this way, you'll discover what you're feeling and how to deal with it. So, you should go pack a bag for several days, and gather yourself quickly. This year, we're going to National City."

Mia had the question of what she meant right at the tip of her tongue, but when Nyssa mentioned how things were going to be different, she looked at her in disbelief for a moment, and then managed to get out, "But National City is like ten hours away. That's a long drive, like _really_ long. Why are we going to National City?"

The corners of Nyssa's lips curled ever so slightly higher, and with a sparkle in her eyes, she nodded slowly. "Yes, it is indeed approximately ten hours' drive from here. So, I suppose if you wish to discover the answers to your questions, perhaps you should quicken your pace and pack for our excursion expeditiously. Then again, a little mystery can be a good thing," she replied.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 5**

Mia stood at the window of the very nice, and expensive, hotel room looking down over the city. Everything seemed new, and it all gleamed in the sunlight. Here the sky was much clearer than it was in most areas this close to Los Angeles. The air was fresher, which was a change from even the area surrounding Star City. It was almost like being in another country, or on another _planet_ considering how sparkly the entire place looked and felt. The city felt so clean she felt extremely out of place even standing by a hotel room window; it was very disconcerting feeling so far out of her element.

"Why did Nyssa bring us here, Mom?" she asked as she turned back to face the room itself, and her mother, who was busily unpacking for their impromptu vacation. The confusion she felt was tangible, almost like a second layer of skin. "I mean, I know there's a lot of stuff here that Coast City and other places don't have, but with this being Nyssa's idea, I know we're not here for a trip to an amusement park, or to go walking around in the Planetarium or something. There's something else to this besides just seeing something and somewhere new."

Felicity paused in her hanging clothes in the closet and turned to face her daughter. _There she goes again, showing how much like Oliver she is. Suspicious of everything, everything has to have a purpose other than what it seems like on the surface, nothing is ever simply casual. Then again, too, I guess Nyssa hasn't given her any reason to not look at things that way. She has drilled it into Mia's head to always be alert, trust her instincts, and all that other assassin stuff. It's just that she's so much like her dad,_ Felicity thought as she fidgeted with the shirt she had in her hands.

"Mom? Earth to Felicity Smoak," Mia said after a few moments, even going so far as to snap her fingers several times in front of her mother's face. When Felicity didn't answer right away, she laid her hand on Felicity's shoulder with a clear expression of concern and worry. "Mom, are you okay? What's going on?"

Felicity blinked a couple of times, and seemed to snap out of it. She cut her eyes to Mia and hung the shirt on the handle of the dresser next to the closet. "Hmm? Oh, why are we here is what you asked, isn't it? I'm not sure myself, really. Nyssa didn't say much about it, but I'm pretty sure Thea knows what she's got in mind. Nyssa typically has a lot on her mind, she's really smart, so she's not really so single minded, but she can seem that way because she's so disciplined when achieving a goal."

_Wow, she hasn't really done that in a long time,_ thought Mia as her mother answered her question. She put her hands on both of Felicity's shoulders and met her eyes as she said, "Mom, you're doing the whole manic bouncing and racing thoughts thing again. You haven't talked like that with that much intensity since I was a little girl. So, what's going on, really?"

From behind Mia there was the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Nyssa asked, "Well, aren't we the suspicious one? You haven't forgotten how to look into something, and see a pattern or motivation for an action beyond what it simply appears to be. That's good, very good." The door that connected Mia and Felicity's room to the room of Nyssa and Thea still stood open behind her, and it was obvious that she'd come through the door rather than one of her more mysterious methods.

Mia was still standing next to Felicity, though she'd turned around, and regarded her teacher. "That sounds more like it, that's more your style, Nyssa. So, what _are_ we doing here?" she asked as she spread her arms to indicate the city at large. "This isn't all some special getaway for my birthday, is it?"

Nyssa glanced at Felicity a moment before turning her attention back to Mia. In the meantime, Thea had stepped silently into the room as well, and leaned against the door frame with her arms folded loosely across her chest. Nyssa allowed the very slightest upwards motion of the corners of her lips as she replied, "Most of it is, yes. I thought you might enjoy a new destination for a change." She paused for a moment, and then continued, "However, you are correct in assuming that that wasn't the only reason why I chose this locale for us to visit."

Mia let out a long breath and then looked at each of the three women with her in turn. "I _knew_ it," she stated with an air of triumphant confirmation. Her gaze leveled at Nyssa, and she asked, "Okay, I'll bite. What sort of 'field trip' is this, then?"

Thea, who had been silent thus far, stepped out from behind Nyssa, and put her hands in her back pockets, then stepped over to Mia, and reached up to take a lock of the girl's hair lightly in her fingers. "You have no idea what you might come across with these Ninth Circle dipshits," she said as she regarded her niece with a straight on glance. "But you might come across someone else, or something else, that has nothing to do with those ass clowns, but that are just as dangerous. So, we have a few friends that we want you to meet, so they can help you be prepared to react to pretty much _any_ unexpected situation. We can't prepare you for everything you might end up going against all your life, but we can definitely give you a taste of what sort of things you _could_ theoretically find yourself up against, enough that you won't be shocked by pretty much anything."

"I am not able to replicate the tactics and abilities they have so that I may teach you how to respond to such threats, and similar ones, myself," Nyssa interjected. "Therefore, your aunt and I have requested that these friends assist us in demonstrating possibilities to you. We have asked them that they not treat these demonstrations and training as anything less than actual combat. If you become too lax or overconfident, you may well find yourself injured."

Mia looked around the room at all of them with a somewhat incredulous expression. When she finally found her voice, she said, "Okay… so what, exactly, are they supposed to be preparing me for? Nyssa, you've taught me over a dozen martial arts styles and how to use improvised fusions of them; how to handle all sorts of blades and blunt weapons; some archery that should apply to most guns; and how to read and follow my instincts in the heat of the moment. What could they _possibly_ teach me that you haven't already, or _couldn't?"_ She laughed confidently, but it tapered off a little as she realized they weren't laughing with her.

Thea cast a look to Felicity and then Nyssa, and then finally returned her eyes to lock with Mia's. A slow smile crept up on her face as she patted the young girl's cheek softly, "Oh, don't worry, little Grasshopper. You'll see."

X

The heavily armored door opened and beyond it was an enormous cavernous room. It was much larger than the typical gym, with a ceiling at least twenty feet high. The room was empty, except for three occupants, and a small area in the far corner that looked like a security guard station desk or something. The door they had entered in order to travel to the room had been quite a distance back, apparently. Between that door and the one she just walked through, it had been a long, complex maze of corridors.

Mia assumed it was to conceal where the room actually was, and if that was the case, they did a damned good job of making it as confusing as hell to actually find the room with all those corridors. _What is this, the maze of the Minotaur or something? I don't think Indiana Jones would find his way to this place._

Once she got over marveling at the architectural reasoning behind the layout of the labyrinth that brought her there, she actually paid attention to the people in the center of the room. On the left was a woman wearing a non descript black suit that sort of looked military. She had a short, combed back hairstyle with it mostly shaved on the sides, and she looked pretty business like. Yet, from the way she carried herself, Mia was sure she wasn't the type you wanted to underestimate.

On the right was a rather tall and well built black man that appeared several years older than the woman did. Unlike her, he was dressed in what appeared to be somewhere between street clothes and business casual. He had a stern, serious look about him, and the way he carried himself, it was obvious he wasn't just Joe Nobody that you'd find anywhere in any town. No, this guy was a warrior. Mia could feel it in her bones.

Those two seemed pretty normal, all considered, Mia thought. It was the woman standing between those two that made her mouth drop open in shock. The blonde woman was of above average height, blonde, and built more solidly than you'd expect. The shocking part of her appearance was the dark blue body suit she wore that was adorned with a five sided shield in the center of her chest, which held a stylized "S" inside it, and the dark red knee high boots and cape that completed the look.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me. You know _Supergirl?_ I mean, come on. Supergirl?" breathed Mia in surprise and incredulity. She looked back and forth between her mother, Thea and Nyssa, and then waved an inclusive hand back at the trio. "What's Supergirl going to teach me? How to get my ass kicked six ways from Sunday by someone you can't knock down, you can't overpower, you can't hurt, that moves faster than you can spark a brain cell to think, and that can put you in orbit around Mars with a casual back slap? It sounds like a really fun lesson."

Nyssa stepped forward a step, and spoke in a low, soft tone, "Listen to me, _Al Najim._ Its not her formidability that you will be learning or dealing with from her. She has knowledge that I do not possess, as well as skills that no one else on Earth has. This makes her well suited to teach you to react to something completely unexpected."

"And besides that, she won't have her powers when you are training," said a voice from behind Mia. The woman in the black suit was approaching her, and nodded towards the odd lighting panels that lined the walls about every three feet around the entire chamber. "These panels will make her as physically formidable as any ordinary person while she's in this room. But believe me, her powers aren't what you're going to have to worry about trying to overcome. The girl's got moves."

As if on cue, the odd lighting panels lit up with an odd green light. Supergirl frowned for a moment, much like someone would while getting blood drawn or an IV inserted. She looked a little deflated, but still quite capable of doing whatever it was that she was supposed to be doing. She nodded at the woman in the black suit, and the woman turned back towards them.

"Mia," began Felicity, placing a hand on her daughter's back and leading her forward a couple of steps towards the woman in black. "This is Director Alex Danvers, of the agency we're standing in the training room for. The serious looking guy over there is J'Onn J'Onzz, the former Director, and private investigator now. And I guess you recognize Supergirl, huh?"

"Hi, Mia," said Alex in a businesslike, but friendly tone as she extended her hand to shake Mia's. "It's good to meet you. Thea, Nyssa, and your mom tell me that you need some extra training. I'm sure that Nyssa is teaching you how to handle any threat well, but they all want you to have a broad range of options from which to choose. We're here to help you learn those options."

Mia grasped Alex's hand, and expected it to be rather soft. While she looked like she could handle herself, Mia thought that her being the agency's director meant pushing papers and approving missions rather than carrying them out. However, she was surprised to find that Alex had a firm grip, and that her hand was actually quite strong. Obviously, she had spent a long time in the field, and may even continue to do so even then.

With a somewhat sheepish expression, mixed with a little embarrassment, she said softly, "Um, hi Alex. Good to meet you too." She'd been there two minutes and had already made one wrong and potentially dangerous assumption. Nyssa was constantly telling her to assume absolutely nothing so that she would be ready to deal with any situation as it came. "So, um, what are you supposed to be teaching me? Hand to hand, weapons, firearms, or what?"

Alex allowed herself a light smile and she shrugged. "A little bit of all of it," she replied. "We'll run you through a few hand to hand sessions, though I'm sure you've got extensive experience in traditional hand to hand, as well as some more traditional old fashioned weapons. My focus with you will primarily be firearms, and tactics with them. These principles should also translate easily to archery or whatever. Even knife throwing uses similar aiming and concentration."

_Yeah, right. I feel like I'm six years old again. Is this really necessary?_ Mia thought to herself as she continued to size up her guest teachers. With the skills Nyssa had taught her, she was convinced that this would all be child's play. Nyssa was a badass, and she'd taught her how to be one as well. Out loud, however, she replied, "Great, sounds good. Extra training never hurt, right?" There wasn't a lot of sincerity in her words, however.

She glanced up at the man as he approached her, and she sized him up as he got closer. _He's probably pretty strong, maybe a little slow, maybe not. His own bulk will get in his way, and give me an advantage. Plus, he's probably thinking what's a fourteen year old going to do to him? Oh, boy, what he doesn't know…_

"John Jones, huh?" she asked as the man came close enough to shake her hand. His hand was very calloused and his grip was quite strong. He was obviously the warrior she took him for when she first saw him.

J'Onn chuckled and smiled at her. She'd apparently failed to pick up on the slight, but different, pronunciation of his name. "The 'J' has more of a 'Zh' sound to it, so I guess you would probably think it's a little exotic. It takes a little time to get used to it," he replied good naturedly as they shook hands. "But yes, that's my name. I'm pleased to meet you."

Mia considered his words and raised her brows. "That's pretty unusual. Where are you from? Your accent is pretty good, though. It makes it hard to tell you probably aren't American. Anyway, it's good to meet you too." she observed as she continued to size him up. _Okay, it's more than "probably" about his being strong. I haven't seen his speed yet, so the jury's still out on that one. I'm going to guess he's probably from an African country, most likely Kenya or somewhere like that. So, I'm going to guess that I'll be dealing with some form of capoeira, maybe. Considering the strength of his accent, probably some more common martial arts like some form of karate or tae kwon do as well. I hope I don't embarrass him too much. He seems like a nice enough guy._

J'Onn smiled at her as he turned around to face her again, and answered, "Mars." As he spoke, he shifted into his true form. His body grew about two feet or so taller, while his head grew more elongated with a pronounced brow, and his skin was an emerald green. His clothes even changed to be a black body suit with a red X across the chest and a blue cape. He tapped his temple and continued, "Oh, by the way… I'm not _intentionally_ reading you, but you're thinking it so strongly, you're doing the psychic equivalent of yelling, and it's extremely hard to tune it out. Now that you know, you may want to adjust your estimation a little. But thank you for not wanting to embarrass me over much."

"Holy shit!" Mia exclaimed as the man before her shifted and morphed into the green skinned alien standing before her at that moment. _ "That_ was unexpected. And wait, what the fuck? 'Reading me?' What do you mean by that?" Her face flushed a bright crimson because apparently, he knew _exactly_ what she'd been thinking. That was just too weird.

Supergirl came up at that moment, and held out her hand to shake Mia's. "Hello, Mia. Wow, it's so cool to meet you," she said with her usual sunny smile even as her eyes wandered over the girl's face. She glanced up at J'Onn, then back at Mia and then winked at her. "He means he's a telepath. He can read minds. He doesn't do so on purpose, not without your permission, but most people don't realize just how _loud_ their thoughts can be. It's kind of like standing next to him and yelling in his ear."

Another flush of embarrassment washed over Mia's features, and she ducked her head between her shoulders a little as she let her gaze move up to J'Onn's face. "Oh," she said with an expression like the wind had just been taken out of her sails. "Sorry, I didn't know you could… that anyone could read… I thought psychic stuff was just so much bullshit, I mean. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to think yell at you." She stumbled over her words as she tried to figure out the least offensive way to say what she was thinking.

The Martian just smiled and waved it off, and she addressed Supergirl. "Okay, so Alex is going to teach me some firearms stuff and a bit of weaponry and unarmed combat. J'Onn is going to teach me to fight against someone with abilities one probably doesn't expect I guess. What are you going to teach me?" She wasn't intending to be rude, but even to her ears it sounded a little abrasive.

Supergirl smiled and lifted a shoulder as she answered, "Well, I'm going to teach you a little _klurkor,_ a bit of Daxamite style fighting, and some other unusual stuff. Some of it is stuff I've picked up here and there. My, uh, my boyfriend… ex boyfriend I guess… taught me the Daxamite stuff. He was from Daxam. He taught me some other stuff too. Oh, before you ask, because I can tell from your expression that you have _no_ idea what I'm talking about, _klurkor_ is a Kryptonian martial art. It's a sort of blanket term for a set of styles from the same part of Krypton, kind of like _kung fu_ is here from China on Earth. _Klurkor_ is a broad name for a family of martial arts."

As they talked, Felicity, Thea and Nyssa were having a conversation of their own. They had stayed back from the main part of the floor so Mia and the others would have room to talk and to get started with their training.

Felicity anxiously fidgeted with the leather of her purse as she kept rapidly shifting her gaze from Mia to the other two women and back again. "Oh boy…she doesn't have a clue about what she's in for, does she?" she asked the two women standing with her. "She's so cocky…I hope they don't embarrass her too badly. She's definitely Oliver's daughter."

"Nope, she has absolutely _no_ idea what's about to happen," answered Thea as she leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms loosely across her chest once more. She pressed her lips together and pulled them in between her teeth as she watched Mia with the others in anticipation. "You nailed it, Felicity. There's no mistake. She's _definitely_ Ollie's daughter in the fact she's self assured."

Nyssa sighed softly and furrowed her brows lightly as she watched the others talking. "There's no mistaking that she is indeed Oliver's daughter, but she has yet to understand and master the concept of the difference between confidence and arrogance as her father did. I've told her that impulsiveness and recklessness were her enemies countless times from the first day onward."

"Maybe after this she'll learn that lesson, or at least be aware of it," mused Felicity in a soft voice. Inside, she was hoping and praying that Mia would come to her senses and actually objectively assess what her situation was instead of rashly thinking she had it all under control.

"We can only hope," said Thea quietly. Like the others, she was watching what was going on as well. "If she doesn't, both her and her ass are in for a _hell_ of a wakeup call. Alex is damned good, J'Onn will freak her out with some of the stuff he can do on top of his regular fighting ability, and Kara will bitch slap her around even _without_ her powers. I've seen Kara train with Alex, Ollie, Sara, and everybody else. She's damned good, even when she hasn't got the total 'super' package going on."

"Indeed," remarked Nyssa as her gaze never moved from Mia. "They are all quite competent fighters on their worst days, and each possesses qualities that Mia will not suspect. I hope that she will not allow her overconfidence and brashness be her undoing."

Felicity sighed heavily and shrugged a shoulder. "Well, if she manages to survive this without looking like she got dragged through hell backwards behind a horse, she'll _deserve_ that birthday celebration we're throwing for her."

They all fell silent, and each winced emotionally for Mia as she squared off against her first partner. The three women knew this was going to get nasty, and if Mia hadn't learned her lessons before she stepped up to them, she damned sure would have when they were finished. Felicity started absently calculating the costs of bandages, Neosporin and Tylenol.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 6**

Mia stood on the opposite end of the cavernous room that the training would be participating in from her mother, Alex, J'Onn, and Supergirl. The green glow from the Kryptonite lights around the room cast an odd shade on hers, Nyssa's, and Thea's skin. She drew her brows together, and then nodded towards the far end of the chamber where the others stood.

"You really think that this is actually going to go somewhere?" she asked as she got herself and her gear ready. "Okay, so it's a supposedly highly trained government agent and two aliens. They hurt just like we do, right? Even Supergirl, supposedly, with the green lightshow they've got going on in here. So just how much do you _really_ expect me to learn?"

Nyssa glanced at Thea, who seemed content to let her answer her student's questions. "I expect it to be a profound learning experience for you, _Al Najim,"_ Nyssa replied as she adjusted the clothing that Mia was wearing to minimize snags and other hindrances. "In addition, I expect you to open your mind and _learn_ from this experience, rather than foolishly and rashly dismiss it.

"The deadliest mistake you can make in a confrontation is underestimating your opponent while overestimating your own abilities. You cannot fill a cup that is already full. Empty your mind of your preconceptions so that you may acquire further knowledge and fill your metaphorical cup once more, rather than assume you already know everything that you need to know. Every confrontation, every experience, is a learning moment. Every single one will teach you _something,_ even if you do not realize what it is that you have learned at that moment."

Mia's expression told Nyssa that she still wasn't completely accepting what they were telling her. The young girl looked up at her aunt and her teacher, and tilted her head. "So, what happens if I just go in there and rely on what I already know?" The tone she used was obviously a blurred line between overconfidence and arrogance. That was something that Nyssa was working hard to eliminate. So far, she'd had limited success.

Thea glanced over her shoulder back towards the others for a moment and then turned back to her niece. She folded her arms over her chest lightly and shrugged, "Then you get your ass curb stomped is what happens, Mia. You're smart, so be smart and accept that what you _don't_ know is a universe worth's of knowledge more than what you _do_ know."

X

Kara's brows were knitted over her eyes in confusion as the three of them spoke across the room from where Nyssa, Thea, and Mia were. She glanced back over her shoulder at the trio, and then back to Felicity. "Maybe it's none of my business, and if so you can tell me," she began, watching Felicity's face. "Why wouldn't you want Mia to know what her father did? Don't you want her to know the kind of man he was, the good man that would lay down his life for others? Don't you want her to know the hero that Oliver was?"

Felicity's eyes moved between her three friends rapidly for a moment. It was obvious that Kara was genuinely confused about why she'd tell them all not to mention _anything_ about Oliver being Green Arrow, and that he was a vigilante or hero, depending on who you asked.

She drew a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then answered in a quiet voice, "She's already confused and upset because her father had to sacrifice himself to save the universe. As far as she knows, Oliver was just an ordinary man with a good heart. She hasn't told me, but she's angry that Oliver would be what she considers foolish and sacrificed himself when there were so many people like you that could have done it instead. She thinks that he didn't want us or something, so that's why he did it."

Felicity paused and drew another deep breath to attempt to calm herself before she continued, "Star City is a much different place now than it was before the Crisis. Vigilantes aren't just outlawed, they're to be engaged with extreme prejudice, up to and including killed on sight. Anything relating to the Green Arrow, any of his team, or anyone that was outside the law has been banned. She hates the very idea of vigilantes, so if she knew Oliver was the Green Arrow…"

"She'd hate her dad, and you, and would do something really and truly reckless," finished Alex thoughtfully. Her gaze turned towards the figures at the other end of the room and back before sighing. "I'm so sorry, Felicity. I understand why you're keeping that a secret from her. However, you know sooner or later she's going to either find out or figure it out for herself."

"She's a smart girl," added J'Onn thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin. "She's been suspecting that there's more to the story concerning Oliver than you've told her for some time now, I think. I only got a very vague impression of her thoughts when she first arrived, but it was very much on the surface of her mind."

Felicity nodded slowly and closed her eyes. "I know she does. She has to. She keeps asking Nyssa and Thea questions about him, and I'm sure she's checking my stories against theirs, and each other's," she breathed quietly as she ran her hands back through her hair. "Whatever she thinks her father was involved in and why he had to do what he did, she knows there's more to it than simply what she knows."

Kara sighed and ran a hand back through her own hair. It was obvious that she didn't feel quite right about not saying anything, but she nodded. "Okay, I understand. I won't say anything. It's just really hard. Oliver was like family, and it just doesn't seem right that his daughter doesn't know who and what he really was. But I know it has to be that way, for everyone's sake. It's still a bitter pill to swallow, you know?" she said in a somewhat defeated tone.

"At least you don't have to lie, Kara," said Alex as she rubbed her sister's shoulder lightly. "You just have to circumvent certain details, or make them vague. It sucks, but you can still be truthful." As she spoke, she checked the equipment she was going to work with Mia on, making sure that it was prepped and primed.

Kara harrumphed and scowled as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. "That's almost as bad as lying. I really wish I could tell her, but that's not my call. I promise you I won't say anything, Felicity," she stated with the obvious weight of defeat in her voice.

Felicity stepped forward and gave the Kryptonian a tight hug, then released her with an apologetic smile. "I want to tell her too, Kara. I want her to know _exactly_ who her father was, what he was, how brave and selfless and good he was. I want her to know _everything._ But I can't, not right now. In the future, I'm hoping that I can. Right now is a different story, though."

Everyone silently agreed, each nodding in affirmation to the unspoken continuance of the conversation, then Alex stepped away and out towards the center of the floor. She pulled a cart behind her, on which several types of weapons lay. "Okay, Mia, I'm up first. Come on out, please?" she asked as she stopped at the point near the center of the room.

Mia glanced up at Nyssa and Thea for a second before she came out to where Alex stood. Once more, she sized up the woman that her aunt and teacher were so sure that was going to teach her something new. She still wasn't convinced. "So, what are we doing first? Hand to hand? Marksmanship?"

Alex watched her as she approached, and could definitely see the signs of Nyssa's training. She was sure than when they faced off against each other, Mia wasn't going to be a punching bag, so she was glad of that. The DEO agent smiled and tossed the girl a pair of safety glasses. "A bit of both," she answered. "Put those on. We don't want you getting an eye put out or anything. Rubber bullets can still be dangerous if they hit the right place."

Mia caught the safety glasses and looked between them and Alex as the agent explained. "Rubber bullets? You mean we aren't shooting live rounds? Where's the fun in that?" she asked with more than a little overconfidence coloring her tone. Despite that, she slid the glasses on and expanded her hands silently in a gesture of "now what?"

Alex smiled ever so sweetly in obvious sarcasm and slid on safety glasses as well. "The fun is in the fact I won't have to take you up to the infirmary to treat you for a bad gunshot wound. Unless you consider that sort of procedure fun, of course," she replied. _Let's see how she responds to a little bit of smart assed attitude when she's on the receiving end. I have no doubts that she's good, but the question is whether or not she's as good as she thinks she is._

X

Across the room, the two groups had gathered into one and stood where Felicity, Kara, and J'Onn stood. Nyssa sighed and shook her head. "I have told her, repeatedly and incessantly, that her overconfidence and recklessness were her greatest enemies. That is a lesson that she is going to learn rather painfully here, I think," she said finally. "That attitude is most likely more dangerous than her overconfidence. I have told her that repeatedly as well."

J'Onn chuckled and shook his head as he watched the lesson about to start. "If Mia thinks she's going to stir Alex up and throw her off with a smart attitude, she has no idea who she's dealing with. I can see that she's quite skilled, just from the way she moves, but I think she's going to be surprised with what's about to happen."

"I have seen Alex in combat," agreed Nyssa with the vaguest hint of a smile on her lips. "While perhaps not as extensively educated in various forms as we were in the League, she uses a rather unorthodox combination of styles that are quite effective, and quite different from what Mia has experienced thus far. Therefore, this should be quite educational for her."

Kara covered her mouth in an attempt to not blurt out laughing and the sound was thankfully quiet and soft. "Besides that," she said as she nodded in the direction of the two, "if she thinks that she's going to win a stubbornness contest with Alex, she's in for a treat."

"That's what I'm hoping," Felicity chimed in as she moved to get a better view of what was happening. She was both worried and hopeful that perhaps Alex could teach her a thing or two about humility. "I'm really hoping she comes away with more realistic estimations than what she's got now. I'm afraid for her otherwise. She doesn't get much exposure with the outside world."

X

Alex slid a magazine into the pistol she held after checking its ammunition, and hefted it reflexively as she talked. "Okay, Mia, I know you've got some really kick ass skills from training with Nyssa. I'm certain you can hold your own in most fights with no trouble." She watched the girl to make sure she was paying attention, and actually absorbing what she was saying.

She seemed to be, so Alex continued, "The rubber bullets in this gun are softer than the normal rubber bullets law enforcement typically uses. In this confined space, it's safer that way, and you don't lose much in the way of how fast the bullets discharge in this small space." As she spoke, Alex moved around a little, making sure her whole body was ready for the training.

"Okay, so the bullets are softer, it's a confined space, I got it. No problem. So, what's the point of this 'exercise' anyway?" asked Mia with more abrasiveness than she'd spoken with up until that point. "Are we going to shoot at those little yellow ducks moving over that track like at a carnival?"

Alex smiled a very slow smile, which masked what Mia could only guess at. "No, not at all," she answered the brash young girl. "Your objective is pretty simple: keep from being shot, and disarm me and incapacitate me at the same time. My objective is to make sure you have to work for it."

Mia smiled a smile of her own and shifted her weight back and forth on the balls of her feet a couple of times. The thick padding they were standing on creaked a bit as they moved. "That's all?" she asked, coming very close to smirking. "Sounds like fun. Piece of cake. Let's do this."

Alex didn't reply, she simply shrugged a shoulder, and moved about fifteen feet from Mia. Once in position, she waved her fingers at the young girl. "This is about the distance that a suspect usually holds while committing a robbery at gunpoint, or before bringing their weapon into sight. It's enough room that they feel comfortable, out of reach, and generally figure they have enough time to react to any sudden movements their victim might make. They count on surprise, shock and fear to do most of their job for them. They usually figure most won't go after them when they have a gun and are out of immediate reach."

She made sure Mia was paying attention and then cracked her knuckles briefly. "Now it's time to put that training and education Nyssa's given you into practical use," she said as she relaxed herself. "If you're wounded, or receive a kill shot, we start over, and keep going with this first scenario until you can live through it flawlessly. I don't do half assed passing on training, just as Nyssa doesn't. I expect my agents to come through training exercises with a hundred percent success scoring. With you, I'm going to be expecting one hundred ten percent and flawless victory. It should be a walk in the park for _you,_ right?"

Mia brusquely nodded, and let Alex get into position. As soon as Alex drew the gun, she moved forward with lightning speed, and went for the gun arm. Mia grabbed for Alex's wrist, and began spinning towards her body to deliver a decisive, punishing elbow to the side of the DEO agent's head. She figured she'd give such a ridiculously elementary objective a satisfyingly humiliating conclusion. The technique was too flashy and showy for something as stupid as a simple disarming, but she wanted to make a statement. She'd show this overblown "expert" what a _real_ warrior could do _easily,_ and how she could shut Alex's infantile attempt down without even taking a second breath.

Unfortunately, the grandiose maneuver didn't turn out as she expected. When she grabbed for Alex's wrist, the older woman let her secure her grip, and as Mia started spinning, she spun along with her to come arcing towards her to end up face to face. As Alex spun, she slapped the gun with her left hand, passing it off to that hand, and when she came around into range, she fired. The rubber bullet shot with a loud discharge, and impacted in Mia's forehead, right above the bridge of her nose. The bullet bounced off to land somewhere on the other side of the room, but Mia wore such a shocked expression that the redness where the bullet hit blended with the scarlet her face had become.

"You can't expect _everyone_ you might end up fighting to be mindless untrained fodder," Alex said with a quiet and calm voice. "Be _prepared_ for the unexpected. _Expect_ to be surprised. Expect it because it's _definitely_ going to happen sometime, like right _now._ The best and most highly trained fighters can appear to be uncoordinated goofs, or rank amateur punks that barely know how to throw a punch, or use a weapon. Don't just _think_ you know who and what you're dealing with, _know_ you know who and what you're dealing with. Let's do it again. This time, worry less about trying to prove how superior your skills are to mine, and more about not getting shot or getting your ass kicked."

Kara winced from the side of the room and shielded her eyes with her hand. "Ouch," she said in a whisper that only the five of them could hear. "I knew that was going to happen. The first time Alex did that to me, she was utterly _brutal._ I can still feel some of the aches from that session sometimes. That was surprisingly tame compared to her usual."

"I _told_ her that if she went in there thinking she was Billy Bad Ass, she was going to get her ass curb stomped," said Thea as she gritted her teeth in sympathy for her niece. "She's stubborn, just like Ollie. Only I think she just found out Alex is more stubborn."

Nyssa kept her eyes on what was happening, but nodded softly as she whispered in turn, "As much as it pains me to say so, I think Alex's approaching her with this as a real world situation, and her responses being toned similarly to _Al Najim's_ may perhaps prove that point sufficiently enough that she will learn a valuable lesson from it."

"I think she's finding that being on the receiving end of a smart ass mouth and attitude isn't as much fun as giving it to everyone else," Felicity said as she jumped at the sound of another shot, followed promptly by Mia growling in frustration. "Anyway, if it works, great. It's a lesson she can't afford to _not_ learn."

The crack of another shot rang through the chamber, followed immediately by a long string of profanity and invectives. Apparently, it was going to take a while for the lesson to take hold.

X

After three hours of intensive training with Alex, Mia's ego had been deflated enough that she was finally behaving more like a student, and less like the "cool I know everything I need to know" girl that she had come into the chamber behaving like. As a result, she'd learned quite a few things, including an entirely new respect for not only Alex's hand to hand skills, but also her skills with a weapon as well.

The lessons hadn't been entirely one sided. Alex walked away with her share of bumps and bruises, and was pleased to see what skills Mia had once she stopped thinking she was unbeatable. By the time the lesson was over, Mia decided that she liked Alex a lot, and started talking to her respectfully and asking for more insights into the way that Alex handled combat. Felicity was very proud of her for finally coming to that realization and for finally behaving like the sweet girl Mia had always been.

After an hour or so of rest, training resumed, this time with J'Onn. The first hour had been a little rocky, with her once more exhibiting frustration with the situation and herself. J'Onn's techniques and tactics were quite different from what was normal for her, certainly. Some of it was simply Martian fighting styles but it went a bit deeper than that too. Finally, she started coming around to a more relaxed and reasonable disposition.

Roughly halfway through the second hour, Nyssa had quietly suggested to J'Onn that he step it up, and show her some of the things that she'd never expect and gauge her reactions to it. The Martian agreed and she returned to the huddle of spectators watching the training.

Mia was bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet as she waited for J'Onn to finish his conversation with Nyssa. The young girl was certain that Nyssa was encouraging him to go harder on her, but she didn't mind. That was the point of all this training anyway, she thought. She wouldn't learn any other way.

Before J'Onn had a chance to initiate combat himself, Mia instantly leaped forward, bringing her leg up to deliver a harsh kick to the side of his face. Immediately, she whirled to drive a low punch to his midsection, which she intended to follow up with a sharp knee to the face, which should knock him onto the floor flat where she could follow up.

J'Onn either allowed her kick to land or she had caught him completely by surprise, because the smack was satisfying and solid, but when she punched, he suddenly shimmered and she felt nothing. Instantly, J'Onn materialized behind her and grabbed her in a tight submission hold, immobilizing her as she dropped her jaw in shock. She strained against the hold first with the hope that if she could react before he tightened his grip, she could break it. When that failed, she tried to use the advantage of her small size to slip free of the hold. Unfortunately, that proved to be futile as well.

Finally, she realized she was stuck because she couldn't figure a way to actually either get him to release his hold, or for her to somehow extricate herself from it. "Okay, okay, I give. You won that one. So, what the hell was _that?_ That was some freaky shit. Some _cool_ shit, but freaky regardless," she asked as he released her from the grip.

J'Onn laughed lightly and briefly as he kept the human appearance he wore as he sat down with Mia on a bench. "Some aliens, such as Martians, have the ability to alter their density, so that we can move through solid objects such as walls or doors, or to become much tougher in our ability to stave off damage," he replied to her question as he wiped sweat from his eyes with a towel. "Granted, you will most likely never have to worry about facing such an ability. However, facing that ability teaches you how to be instantly adaptive, and learn to react much faster to threats."

"Yeah, I get your point," Mia said with a soft, thoughtful sound to her voice. "That seems to be the theme of the lessons today. That, and learning to remember that I am not the best fighter to walk the Earth, and I have to be mindful of the fact that even the klutziest bastard can be hiding some really impressive skills."

J'Onn turned to face her more as he studied her face. "Mia, you are far from incompetent. You have one of the finest combatants on Earth as your teacher. You have us assisting you, you have your Aunt Thea, who is quite formidable herself. You have many sources of knowledge, experience and things to learn at your disposal. There is no shame or weakness in knowing that you don't know everything, and wanting or needing assistance of some sort outside your own."

"And you're all amazing fighters and teachers," the girl said as she ran a towel over the back of her neck in sawing motions. "Back home, it's just me and Mom, and sometimes Nyssa, and Aunt Thea lately. I don't really have a lot of contact with people beyond that. What little contact I do have is brief, usually when I run into town to get groceries or something. I never go to the city, just the little town close to home. I guess I just got too used to the idea that most of them aren't the fighter type. There are some ARGUS agents and that sort of thing nearby, but no one that presents a real threat."

J'Onn nodded and turned to face Mia more fully. "The threat of the Ninth Circle is very real," he began, once more rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Your mother, Nyssa, Thea, all of them has been trying to prepare you for the day when inevitably they find you and come for you. They've been preparing you to know how to fight them, to be able to fight them. We know of these people. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to locate their leaders as of yet, but we do know them and their methods."

Mia hugged her arms close around herself and glanced over towards where her mother and the others were talking. Her voice dropped as she said, "I'm worried about Mom. She's a genius, I know that, and she can think her way out of pretty much anything. She's not a fighter, though. She's tough, yeah, she's not someone that gives up. But when they come, I'm the one that's going to be standing between them and her. I _need_ to be able to keep her safe. If I can do nothing else, that's something I _must_ do. Dad would want me to protect her."

J'Onn nodded and allowed his gaze to travel towards the cluster of people halfway across the room as well. "I did not know your father as well as any of the others," he said quietly as he met her gaze once more. "But I knew him well enough to know the kind of man that he was, and what lay in his heart. Your father was a good man, strong of mind, spirit, and body. He was a great friend."

Mia drew her knees to her chest while her heels supported them on the bench. "Everybody tells me that," she said closing her eyes. She was fighting tears that she always tried to hide from everyone else. "Since they do, I guess it must be true, right? I just wish I knew _him,_ the way he was when there was no one to help or nothing that dragged him away from home."

Before J'Onn could reply, Thea approached them and stood beside Mia, rubbing her shoulder. "Hey, I think you've had enough of a birthday spanking today, what about you? I think everybody's about ready to pack this in for the day, and go celebrate that birthday of yours before your next one gets here," she said with a light smile. "We can do some more training tomorrow. Even Nyssa agrees, so that should tell you something."

Mia reached up to wrap her arms around Thea and held her tightly for a long moment. She closed her eyes and just felt her aunt's presence. It soothed her in a way she couldn't explain. Maybe it was some weird way she could feel closer to her dad. She wasn't really sure why, she just knew that she needed to in that moment.

She opened her eyes and turned to look at J'Onn without letting go of Thea. "You, Alex and Supergirl are coming too, aren't you? I'd really like it if you did. You're family to my mom and Aunt Thea, so I guess you're family to me too, right?"

J'Onn nodded with a smile as Kara came over and knelt down in front of the young girl. "Of course we'll come if you want us to," she said with her characteristically sunny demeanor. "I guess you're finding out you've got a lot more family than you thought, huh? Besides, it's your birthday, and birthdays are about changing and growing, about loved ones sharing their lives and memories with you, and making the memories yet to be made. I guess you could say they're about love, and you've got a _lot_ of people that love you, kiddo."

"I guess I do," Mia replied, sheepishly looking around at everyone.

Thea ruffled her hair and bent to kiss the top of her head. "You're damned right you do, Mia. So, let's get cleaned up, and go eat and have cake and all that stuff? Sound like fun?"

The girl watched as the rest all came to gather around where she was sitting and she released Thea, got up and hugged her mother and Nyssa. "It sounds like a lot of fun, actually," she answered.

Alex smiled a knowing little smile and crossed her arms as she nodded her head sideways towards Kara. "And I bet you're getting a _super_ extra special birthday present this year, Mia. I think you're big enough and brave enough that you won't freak out on it. So, don't let yourself get _too_ loaded up on cake and ice cream," she said with a slight laugh.

Kara shot Alex a playful glare and huffed, "There's no such thing as too much cake and ice cream." She turned to Mia and winked before continuing, "So, I was thinking that maybe after we have your dinner and cake and stuff, maybe you'd like to go flying? Would you like that?"

"You're serious?" Mia asked as she glanced around at everyone, seeking confirmation that this was real. For that moment, Mia looked more like a normal kid her age than she had since she was a little girl. "Oh, _hell_ yeah I would!"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 7**

Mia leaned back and rubbed her belly, groaning in both pleasure and satisfaction. Dinner and dessert both had been amazing. Nyssa, Thea, and her mother had gone all out to make the birthday dinner experience something memorable and special for the young woman. Her eyes traveled over the different faces of her family, and of the people that she was beginning to think of as family. She couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration.

Each member of her group of family and friends gave her gifts that appealed to both Mia's personality, as well as their own. Every one of them meant something to everyone concerned. She hadn't expected to receive anything really, other than their company and the fantastic private party they threw for her, so the gifts were an unusual surprise.

Finally, it came time for Kara's present. They both excused themselves from the table, and went outside. The air was mild, typical for that time of year in California. Mia's eyes scanned the sky and the skyline immediately around them, and turned to Kara. "We're really going to go up there? I mean really fly, instead of a short little glide close to the ground?" she asked the Kryptonian.

Sounds of traffic and the soft buzz of conversations filtered to them as they stood outside the restaurant in the alley that ran parallel to its side wall. It was like any other night with people walking along the streets, or driving in cars through them, making the ambient noises one associated with a city. The air was cool and crisp, prompting Mia to rub her arms lightly with her palms.

Kara smiled and glanced upwards a second before she cast her gaze back the girl's way. "We sure are," she replied with a cheerful and bubbly sounding voice. "We're going to fly around like I do by myself. Are you going to be warm enough? It is a little chilly out tonight. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold, and worry your mom any more than she already worries about you."

Mia snorted and shook her head. "Mom's always going to worry, no matter what," she replied with a resigned tone. "She'd worry if I was wearing a suit of armor that could stop a tank. Hell, she'd worry if I were _you._ That's her catchall excuse for freaking out anytime I go out of her sight." The young girl shook her head slowly and kept her gaze on the ground a moment. Her shoulders hunched in an almost dejected pose.

Kara frowned lightly as she watched the younger girl's body language. She could see so much of Oliver in her, that steely determination and stubbornness that he often displayed. Yet, she could see Felicity in her as well, but it seemed like she was fighting against the parts of herself that were more like her mother. Watching the girl at war with herself struck Kara as strange and foreign to her way of thinking. She usually tried to emulate her own parents and show her pride in being their daughter. Kara wasn't sure that Mia knew she was doing so consciously and it made her wonder what could have started such a battle in the girl's mind.

"Anyway, I've got a jacket that I brought with me in the car," Mia said finally. She lifted her gaze from the oil stained asphalt beneath her feet and regarded Kara once more. "I'll go grab it right quick, and then we can go. We don't want Mom freaking out and telling me I'm going to turn into an icicle or something."

Mia turned and headed around the corner towards the car, leaving the Kryptonian standing alone in the alley for a moment. Her tone had been rather sarcastic, and Kara wondered how she was going to try to correct her thinking without seeming as if she were putting her nose into the girl's business. It wasn't her responsibility to try to explain things to Mia and try to make them right, but all the same, she felt compelled to do so. It was simply who she was.

After a couple of moments, Mia returned wearing the jacket. Kara made herself smile and motioned for the girl to come to where she stood. "Cool! Are we ready to go flying?" she asked, though the question was obviously unnecessary. Still, she thought she might have a better chance at getting through to Mia if she sneaked the idea that the girl was being harder than necessary on her mom, instead of just telling her outright. She just had to find a way to do so during casual conversation.

Mia nodded and went to where Kara directed her. The Kryptonian wrapped an arm around her waist and checked her grip. "Okay, here we go," she said, and then she leaped from the ground and the pair of them shot into the sky.

They climbed higher and faster into the sky that Mia expected, and she looked down in fascination at the ground before turning towards Kara. "Wow, this is amazing! You're flying a lot faster than I thought you would." Her eyes couldn't seem to catch enough of the flight fast enough. Kara thought she looked like a little kid standing outside a candy store with her nose pressed flat against the window.

Soon they evened out once they were higher than the tallest building in the city. Kara slowed down so Mia could get a better look at everything and take it all in. "I usually fly pretty fast, I guess. Especially when I'm first getting into the air, but it's more that I just like doing it than I really _need_ to," she said as she banked slowly to reduce the cold of the wind as much as she could. Though she wasn't really bothered much by the chill of the wind at such speeds, she knew Mia would be freezing if she flew too fast.

The young girl laughed as the wind rushed through her hair and against her skin, but she kept her eyes on everything she could see. Below them, she could see the Grayson Enterprises, CatCo Worldwide Media, the Wayne Technological Center, Kord Industries, Lord Technologies, and Palmer Tech buildings. "It's so…beautiful up here, and peaceful," she said finally with a touch of awe in her voice.

Kara nodded as she banked once more, making another pass over Midtown and heading for the east side. "Yeah, I love coming up here," she answered as she slowed a little more. "I fly up here and just sort of coast, let my mind go and just feel the city around me. It helps me to clear my head sometimes. If I ever need a few minutes, this is where I usually go."

Mia nodded in understanding as she relaxed her grip a little. She'd been nervous at first, but she'd gotten used to the fact that Kara wouldn't let her fall, and that she had nothing to worry about. "I can see why. If I could fly, I'd definitely do this too," Mia replied as they continued to move over the city at a calm pace.

The two flew in silence for long moments, and then Mia cleared her throat as if she were gathering herself for something. Kara knew something was coming; she just wasn't sure what it might be. She had been hoping that maybe Mia might start feeling comfortable enough with her that she could talk to her candidly, instead of the meaningless chatting they'd done so far. It was obvious to the Kryptonian that she would have to let Mia come at her own pace, in her own time.

When Kara didn't say anything, Mia closed her eyes a second to steel herself before asking, "Kara…can I ask you about something? Without you feeling like you have to go back and report every word to my mom?" She paused a moment as she stared at Kara seriously before she continued, "Not that I think you would, necessarily… it'd just be nice to talk about it without my mom flipping out."

The pair of them was heading towards the edge of the city and out into the desert beyond as Kara nodded. Her eyes settled on Mia's as she agreed to Mia's request with a nod, "Sure, Mia. You can ask me about anything you like, and I'll tell you as much as I can about it. It all depends on what it is and what I know, I guess."

The wind whipped in a sudden gust as they flew, and it ruffled the girl's hair as she considered Kara with a serious look. "I've heard a lot of stuff about how my dad was this great guy, and this huge sacrifice he made to save the universe or whatever," she began. "I guess I want to know _who_ he was as a person, what did he do, and why in the hell would it be so damned important for _him_ to make the sacrifice to save the universe. I mean, no offense, but wouldn't it have made more sense for you or Superman to do it? You guys have powers, you're almost impossible to hurt, and you're a lot stronger and faster than my dad was. You probably could have done it a lot better than he did and survived."

Kara struggled inside as she thought frantically on how to answer the questions Mia was putting to her while still keeping her word to Felicity. She burned to tell Mia exactly who her dad was, what he did, why he did it, and how no one else could have done it. It just didn't seem right to keep her from knowing exactly who her father was, who her mother was, what all they did for not only Star City, but the world itself on several occasions. Unfortunately, she'd given her word, and her word was her bond. She couldn't violate the trust Felicity had put in her.

Sighing, she gathered her thoughts and spoke softly, yet still loud enough for Mia to hear her, "I don't think I have to tell you all the stuff about how your dad was a great friend, a brave and selfless man that gave everything he had to do what he felt was right. You've heard that enough, I think." She ran her free hand back through her hair as Mia listened as if on the edge of her seat.

"Your dad wasn't perfect by any means," Kara continued. "He had a lot of issues; a lot of problems that sometimes made him get in his own way. He had as many flaws as he had amazing traits. That didn't stop him from being the very best version of himself that he could be. Yeah, he was a great friend, someone that if you ever gained his trust, you had it and he'd help any way he could, but he was more than that.

"He was a kind and gentle man under the rough exterior he put up. He was a loving husband and father. When you saw him with Felicity, you had absolutely no doubts how much he loved her, how much she meant to him." Kara paused and tried to blink away the tears that threatened to spill over from her eyes. "When he was with you, he was amazing. He never hesitated or shied away from being the absolute best father he could be. You and your mom made him so happy; the two of you made him so much more than what he already was. You both made him a man that he was proud to be. Before that, he always thought of himself as an angry and dark man with more issues than most could endure. The two of you allowed him to see the light that he was never able to see before within himself, and I honestly don't think anyone could possibly love more intensely or completely than he loved you."

Mia seemed to be absorbing what Kara was telling her like a sponge. Since she didn't interrupt, Kara went on, "When I met your dad, he was the mayor of Star City. He'd been a lot of different things before then, but that's what he did when I first met him. He was popular in the position, and occasionally his popularity dipped a little because he had a lot going on and public perception is rarely on target with what's _actually_ happening in someone's life. In either event, he did a lot of good things for Star City as its mayor."

Mia nodded softly as she took in what Kara was saying. It was all so much information so fast that she was having trouble putting it all together. Her brows drew together, and her eyes seemed like they were swimming in not yet shed tears as she asked, "Okay, so this Crisis thing was this huge cosmic problem. Why was it necessary for Dad to sacrifice himself? What could he have possibly done that couldn't have been done by someone else, without anyone having to die?"

It was then that a tear fell from Kara's eye and rolled over her cheek, a tear that Kara immediately wiped away, but her gaze never wavered. "Actually, he did it to save the Flash and me," she answered quietly as they passed the city limits far below them. "The Monitor, the guy that told us about the Crisis and put us together to try to stop it, had seen the future. In that future, he had seen the Flash and I both die. Your dad couldn't, and wouldn't, accept this, so… he made a deal. In order for the Flash and me to live, he would take our place, and preserve the 'cosmic balance' as the Monitor called it. He gave his life so we could live. He said the universe needed us more than it needed him."

"But what about _us?_ What about my mom and me? We needed _him!_ Didn't he think about that when he was doing all this deciding whose life was more important?" Mia asked as she started to break down little by little. She was angry, devastated, and proud all at the same time, and she couldn't figure out what she was actually supposed to be feeling at that moment. All she knew is that she was growing up without her father in her life.

"We didn't know he'd made this deal until much later," Kara answered as they moved further into the moonlit desert. "Your dad made the choice, as impossible as it was, because if he hadn't, there wouldn't be a universe for _any_ of us to live in. _Everything_ would be _gone._ Your dad's sacrifice allowed us to defeat the Anti Monitor, and win so we could stop the Crisis and eliminate the danger."

They continued to fly in silence for a long time. Kara wove a meandering pattern around the area where the DEO desert facility had been, once upon a time. She doubted that Mia was ready to go back just then, so she just kept going until the girl said she was ready to go back. She understood the pain that Mia was going through, at least in theory because of similar situations that she herself had dealt with, but it wasn't the same, she knew.

Finally, Mia broke the silence. She found Kara's eyes and fixed her gaze there. "Thanks for telling me and being up front about it," she said to the alien. "At least now I understand a little of why it happened the way it happened. That's more than I knew before, really. Everybody told me how great a guy Dad was, what a wonderful friend he was, but very little that was actually about him. About who he was, inside, anyway."

"Sometimes people don't realize just how much it hurts when you try to keep them from being hurt," Kara replied with a sympathetic tone. She let her gaze wander idly over the shut down facility. "Sometimes they do more harm than good, in the name of protecting you. Your mom would never hurt you intentionally, Mia. Maybe she goes about things the wrong way, sometimes, but she only does it because she loves you and thinks that what she's doing is the best or only way. Just because she's doing it the wrong way doesn't mean she's actually wrong."

As mad as she could get at her mother, as exasperated as she could make her sometimes, Mia knew that what Kara was saying was the truth. No matter how mad she got at her mother, she knew that Felicity did it all out of love, even if it was the wrong way.

"Yeah, you're right," Mia finally agreed, if begrudgingly. "It's hard to deal with sometimes, but it's true, I know. Nobody's perfect, no matter how much we want them to be."

Kara tilted her head and seemed really focused on something that Mia could neither see nor hear. She frowned a little and waited for Kara to seem like she wasn't concentrating as hard. Suddenly, Kara landed and set Mia down on the ground.

"There's trouble back in the city," she said briskly as she looked around to make sure no danger was nearby. "Lots of screaming, lots of alarms. It sounds like a fight, a bad one. Stay here, you'll be safe out here until I get back. I can't risk you getting hurt, not until I know what we're dealing with. It sounds like it's in the vicinity of the DEO."

Mia shook her head rapidly and the determined scowl she had on her face deepened. "No way, Kara," she said vehemently. "If there's something going on at the DEO, my mom, Aunt Thea, or Nyssa could be in trouble, not to mention the DEO agents. If they're in trouble, I'm going to help, one way or the other, and good luck trying to stop me. I'll run all the way back if I have to."

Kara looked at Mia, then back towards the city, then to Mia again and sighed, "Okay, fine. You can come, _but_ you have to promise me to be careful and listen. There's no telling what is going on or whom it's going on with. Hold on, we're going to be moving _fast_ and it's going to get cold, really cold."

Mia drew her jacket tighter around her and nodded in agreement to what Kara said. The Kryptonian picked the girl up and with a massive sonic boom, she shot into the air and streaked towards the city so fast Mia couldn't see anything but a huge blur of color.

X

Nyssa's blade sang out in a ringing tone in the night air as she sliced through one assailant's torso, and turned to drive her blade through the shoulder of another. The grunts and growls of pain the attackers released as they fell back left a satisfied grin on the assassin's face. This was her element, this was where she belonged, and she reveled in the surge of energy she'd so sorely missed for so many years. Blood spattered across her dark clothing as she whirled her blade to cleanse it of the thick residue of red that coated its length.

Sharp reports of gunfire rang off the surrounding buildings, followed rapidly by various sounds of pain and the thuds of bodies falling back against cars and the hard surfaces of the street and sidewalk as Alex's relentless advance on the unknown assailants exploded from behind Nyssa. There was no panic or waste of breath or motion in her precise actions as the DEO Director landed beside the Daughter of the Demon, and leveled almost machine like shots at five separate targets surround them both.

_Alex is a consummate warrior, possessed of clarity of both mind and purpose,_ reflected Nyssa as her blade rose once more to stave off a punishing slash from one of the attackers, who brandished a lethally beautiful katana with more than casual skill. The blades clashed loudly as Nyssa spun her blade to deflect the attack, and then reversed the blade to slice up the assailant's torso to split both body and clothing open. Once more, blood spewed in a crimson rain about the combatants and stained the asphalt beneath their feet.

_Though she is somewhat limited in her techniques due to the focus of the training she has received instead of the broad and intensive education of the League, her execution of those techniques is masterful. She would have made a worthy Demon's Hand had she been part of the League._ Nyssa smiled again as their positions brought her and Alex into a back to back defensive sphere of deadly skill. It was almost a foregone conclusion that both of them would enact a complete and vicious gauntlet that their attackers would find most difficult to penetrate with any meaningful result.

Chaos reigned around the combatants as the citizens of the city caught in the vicinity of the fight ran in all directions, crying out in fear and panic. A body flew past to land on the hood of a taxi that had been abandoned after crashing into a street light hard on its back. Before the grunt the man released had even faded, there was the sound of J'Onn's shifting density and another gasp of pain elicited from yet another assailant as the Martian's elbow impacted against their temple with a glorious crunch.

"We've got to contain the fight, keep it close to the DEO and away from the street as much as we can. The people's safety is our first priority," the Martian called out as he phased through another lunging attacker, then turned to grab the man around his neck in a submission hold. With his superior strength, he rendered him unconscious and slid him to the ground in front of a delivery truck, abandoned by its driver moments before.

Alex's eyes caught motion out of their corner, and she reacted. A long, vicious looking ornate dagger was rushing towards Nyssa's jugular vein as the assassin dispatched a careless and overconfident attacker on her opposite flank. Immediately, the woman reacted. She slapped the dagger away with a fast and hard deflection. Before the motion was even at its apex, she managed to grip the wrist of the assailant and leaped into the air. Her legs came to wrap around the man's neck and with a violent twist of her body. She used her inertia and momentum to spin the would be attacker's body in a twisting motion before she came down on her shoulder in a roll, flipping the man onto his back on the street.

"Copy that," Alex answered even as she took the assailant down. With a sharp crack, she disarmed the man by twisting his wrist back, snapping it. The knife fell from his limp fingers as the man cried out in excruciating pain. The agent dispatched the attacker by applying intense and sudden pressure to the sides of his neck even as she ruthlessly jerked his arm straight away from the rest of his body. The resulting snap and its subsequent yell left him vulnerable to the closing off of his oxygen, rendering him unconscious.

Nyssa had heard the sound of the dagger slicing through the air, but by the time she turned, Alex had the situation well in hand. As the Director stood after finishing up the attacker, Nyssa gave her a solemn nod. "Thank you, Alex. Your intervention was… well timed," the assassin acknowledged her with a soft tone. It was obvious that Nyssa was unaccustomed to thanking anyone for anything, especially something like that. The thanks and compliment was awkwardly voiced.

"Of course, don't mention it. Glad to do it," Alex responded with the ghost of a smile. She popped the other woman lightly on the shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie, which prompted an uncertain and confused glance from Nyssa. The Daughter of the Demon finally nodded in affirmation after a few seconds' hesitation.

More shots and various yells sounded all around them as the force of DEO agents assisted in the fight, incapacitating the attackers even as many of them fell as well under the merciless strikes of the unknown combatants. The fight was drawing out, with both sides taking heavy casualties all around them. Smoke choked many of them as it poured from several fires caused by crashed vehicles and explosions of electrical transformers and HVAC units on buildings nearby.

"What, exactly, are these goons trying to do, anyway? Any idea who the hell they are?" asked the voice of Felicity in the ears of the DEO forces. Her tone was high pitched and anyone that didn't know her would think the computer genius was on the verge of panic, but Nyssa, J'Onn, Thea and Alex knew better. Felicity operated best under stress, and the more stress you threw at her, the more efficiently she responded.

A grunt of satisfaction came over the coms as Thea called out, "No goddamned idea." Her opponent felt the power of the young woman's foot in his mouth with punishing force before she whipped him into the air and onto his back, finishing him up with a harsh punch to the diaphragm. The blow knocked the breath out of him and sent him into sub consciousness.

Thea rose from over her downed attacker and gritted her teeth as another came to take his place. "Whoever they are, I don't think this is quite what they were counting on," she continued as she shattered the new assailant's shoulder and cracked his nose with a rising knee strike. The man hit the pavement with a sickening smack.

Suddenly Felicity let out a whoop and a crow of triumph. "Oh, they're _so_ fucked now!" she yelled excitedly. "The cavalry has just arrived!" On her leftmost screen, Felicity saw the blur that suddenly ended with Kara and Mia landing on the pavement on the far side of the conflict.

The Kryptonian set her young charge down on the street, and then smacked a fist into the palm of her other hand as she called out, "Okay, boys and girls, recess is over. It's time to leave your toys on the playground and line up. You're going inside. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, it's your choice. Come on, be smart and make the wise choice, okay guys? It'll hurt less that way." She began calmly striding forward towards the cluster of people embroiled in the conflict.

The lull in activity was only momentary. The abrupt cessation of movement ended suddenly when someone called out, "Heads up! Target S is on the field!" Even as the words were spoken, the fight was suddenly back in full motion, as if it had never paused. A flurry of motion heralded the resumption of chaos in the street.

The momentary lull had not only made Supergirl tilt her head in confusion with a scowl. It had similar effects on the others as well. When the unknown attackers started their assault once more, the others were slow to respond due to that brief break in the combat.

The smacks of fists and feet, gunshots, and various sounds of pain erupted from the clustered crowd of people in the street. The scream of ricocheting bullets echoed off the walls as shots were fired in virtually every direction. Kara moved quickly, snatching several of the lead projectiles from the air before they could strike anyone or anything dangerous to the people in the vicinity, ally and foe alike.

"Alex, on your six! Look out!" Felicity's voice suddenly cried out over the coms. The woman's voice was almost panicked. Felicity had a view of the fight on several screens, and the flurry of movement had momentarily caused sensory overload, but she managed to see what was happening, though she was afraid it was too late.

Alex and the others heard the warning, but it was too late. The danger was imminent, already in motion. The woman whirled, gun at the ready, but knew in her gut that she was already too late. All that she could do was watch in that odd sense of time slowing down so that everything and everybody was moving like watching a video in frame by frame advancement.

"Alex!" yelled J'Onn as the scene played out as if dragged over long minutes, when in actuality, it was only a matter of seconds. He leaped forward, slamming adversaries out of his path with Martian strength as he desperately moved in his friend's direction. His blows sent grown men flying like leaves in a strong wind, but even as he moved, he knew he was going to be too late.

The first bullet exploded from the muzzle of the assault rifle the man had taken from a fallen DEO agent in a flash of light and a deafening roar of sound. The lead projectile ripped through the flesh of her shoulder, just under the collar bone, sending searing pain rushing through her body. The sensation burned along her nerves like a raging wildfire. The entry point burned with a pain that seemed like it'd consume her in a blaze of pain and agony. She'd been shot before, but this felt like an entirely different experience.

The second report of a bullet firing from the weapon sounded again. Alex felt herself spinning with the momentum of the first bullet. The force of the impact was strong enough to literally spin her in place. It felt as if bone was shattered, and a crimson explosion of rain droplet sized spatters of blood sprung across her field of vision.

As she started to fall from her feet sliding out from under her because of the power of the bullet explosion in her shoulder, she felt the heat of the second bullet whiz by over her head, maybe an inch from penetrating her forehead. Somehow it missed; she was so numb she couldn't think other than to recognize the missed shot as a miracle. The ground was rushing up to meet her in dizzying slow motion when the third shot sounded in a protracted report.

Mia's quick eyes caught the movement of the attacker grabbing the assault rifle from the downed DEO agent even as Felicity's warning erupted over the com unit in her ear. With reflexes honed from countless hours of training and drilling under Nyssa's tutelage, she shot forward. Her feet left the ground as she rose to grab the arm of one of the mysterious men that was raising his weapon to fire a shot at Thea.

She twisted at the hip, exerting leverage against the man's arm and shoulder. The movement caused him to spin with his weapon at the mercy of the girl's control. His finger convulsed on the trigger as she redirected him, and his aim was readjusted to fire at his compatriot preparing to fire at Alex. Five shots cracked from the gun and raced towards the man in a wild spray.

Meanwhile, Thea flipped over the hood of an abandoned car as she drew the bow off her shoulder. Immediately after her feet made contact with the street on the other side of the car, she fluidly drew an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, zeroed in on a second assailant aiming for Alex and let it fly. The shaft streaked through the air, thick with smoke and sound, and struck the wrist of the shooter, cutting completely through the flesh and between the bones. In a scream of pain, the man dropped the weapon. Thea drew a second arrow and let it fly at another man on the other side with similar results.

Kara assessed the danger in front of her, and dropped to slam her fist hard into the blood soaked street. The force of the blow crumpled the asphalt and the ground beneath it, and a wave of force rippled from the point of impact. The wave rippled through the street, sending a host of the enemy flying in different directions. They flew through the air, landing on the street, cars, and slamming into buildings.

The Kryptonian's head snapped up sharply at Felicity's warning, and she saw Alex spinning. The man was firing the rifle, even as J'Onn raced towards her, and Thea's arrow took out a second shooter aiming for her sister. Her eyes burned, the power of her heat vision rising within her, but she pushed it down even as she propelled herself forward. If she fired with her heat vision with such power and suddenness, it would incinerate the man instantly, rip out huge portions of the building near him, and most likely obliterate her sister and friends in the immediate vicinity. She couldn't afford to let it go without tempering the power and focus of the beams. There wasn't enough time.

Nyssa heard the urgency in Felicity's voice before the words even registered in her mind. Instantly, her training took over and she whirled. Her sword flew from her hand in a precise and perfect pinwheel, spinning towards her target, a man coming up behind the shooter to cover his back. Steel bit into flesh and blood gushed from the deep and fatal wound the blade opened up in his right side. Along with the blood that rushed from his body, bloody chunks that one could only assume were organs pushed out of the rip as the man fell to the pavement. He likely never knew what hit him before he was rushing onward to the next life.

Before her blade met its target, Nyssa became a starburst of fury, a flurry of fatal movement. Flesh ripped from bones under the deadly precision of Nyssa's strikes. Bones snapped and ripped into splinters, and bodies fell under the unleashed lethal purpose that drove Nyssa in concern for her friend's life.

Kara landed in front of Alex's prone form and stood against the hail of bullets flying from the barrel of the rifle the shooter held. The lead smashed into her body and ricocheted away from her invulnerable body to scream off into the surrounding area, finally coming to rest anywhere but their target.

The Kryptonian's attention was focused solely on the man that had harmed her sister and had intended to end her life. Her face was twisted in barely reined in rage, and it took a supreme force of will to keep that rage in check. With herself under control, she flashed forward to the man in literally less than the blink of an eye. Her hand snatched the rifle from his hands, and she crushed it like a wad of paper in one hand. The debris that the rifle became clattered to the street as she grabbed his shirt and lifted him off his feet.

Seething, she glared at the helpless man, and then turned her head to look down at Alex, who was obviously going into shock. Her body trembled and her complexion had turned several shades paler than normal. "Alex! Are you all right? Can you wa—"

There was a crack of sound as a gun fired from behind the Girl of Steel. A loud thunk sounded as the bullet struck Supergirl's back, a couple of inches under where her heart was. Instead of bouncing off harmlessly as the other bullets had, this one ripped a hole through her cape, and sent a spray of blood from the hole it tore into the Kryptonian's body. Her grip on the man's shirt slackened, and she sank to her knees with an agonized groan before toppling towards the street. Blood poured from the wound.

The heroes froze in place as the spectacle played out in exaggerated slowness and detail. The sounds of the battle rushed inward and became muffled as if under water, and they each felt the numbing cold of shock, fear, and uncertainty. Kara had been wounded, severely wounded from the look of things, and had gone down. For a fraction of a second, they were paralyzed by shock. Such a thing was unexpected. Apparently these people, whoever they were, had researched and planned for this attack, and Kara's likely interference.

The momentary lapse of action served the attackers very little benefit, however. The alien being wounded only galvanized them into action even more stringently than before. Kara's friends burst into frenzied action, colored by their many emotions that shook them each to their foundations.

Felicity, inside the DEO's operations center, stared at the screens that displayed the battle outside from many different angles in open mouthed shock. "Kara?" she whispered as the body of the Kryptonian sank to the ground and abruptly fell prone on the screen in front of her. _**"KARA?!"**_

She was terrified for Alex, but Kara had swooped in. In her mind, that meant everything was going to be okay. Nobody would, or could, hurt Alex with Kara between her and them. That's when the nearly impossible happened, and Kara went down and out for the count.

The blonde slammed her fists so violently down on the operations desk that the force shook the earpiece from her ear. It bounced off her shoulder to clatter across the floor and out of sight. Everyone in the operations room jumped in surprise at the skittish woman's sudden outburst of fear and anger.

Felicity's knuckles bled where the skin had been ripped open when she struck the desk, but she didn't seem to notice. She stood wide eyed staring at the monitors as she whispered through a tightly clenched jaw. "Somebody get that son of a bitch. We… are… _not_… losing… _anyone_… today!"

Mia's jaw dropped in horror as she stopped in mid attack when she saw Kara go down. She'd already seen Alex go down and was heading in that direction, intent on trying to help save her friend. Seeing Kara go down beside her sister slammed through her with the force of a supernova. That meant they _both_ were in extreme danger from the enemies surrounding them.

Her mother's shocked and frightened scream shook her loose from her immobility and her face hardened. In the brief few days she'd been there, she'd bonded strongly with her mother's friends in National City, especially Alex and Kara. All she knew is that right then they were in danger, _immediate_ danger. She had to do _something._

The blade the unknown assailant sliced at her with sailed over her head as she dropped and slid under it. Her elbow viciously lashed out as she did so, and struck the man square and hard in the groin. His breath exploded from his mouth in a harsh exclamation, and he doubled over in pain so strong he couldn't focus on the street pressing against his face.

Immediately, she rolled forward, and her shoulder collided with the hip of the attacker rushing towards her. Her impact threw the man's strike off, and the sharp knife he was stabbing downwards towards her missed her, almost. Instead of embedding itself in the back of her neck where he'd apparently been intending to strike, the edge of the blade ripped down the flesh of her back.

The rush of pain and the sting of the wound only cleared her head. It was only a cut, a deep cut, but still a cut. It wasn't nearly as deep as it would have been if she hadn't been moving so fast. She could feel her left arm tingling, growing numb from where the wound had caught her just behind the ball of her shoulder on her shoulder blade. She could feel the blood seeping from the cut in a thick curtain. She was the daughter of the man that had given everything to help save the universe, she was Oliver Queen's daughter and she ignored it.

Nyssa taught her that pain was a warning, an alarm. Like an alarm clock, it could be shut off, and you could rise to the occasion having already received the alert. Pain was a state of mind, it was a distraction. It had served its purpose and it was no longer needed. Her body was aware of her injury. She could feel the pain later, when she wasn't needing to focus on something else, namely helping her friends. At that moment, she couldn't afford to let herself feel something as trivial as pain.

Felicity's voice screamed over the com, "Mia! What are you _doing?!_ These aren't training dummies, they're real _people,_ real people with real _blades,_ real _guns,_ and really meaning to hurt or kill _everybody_ in their way! _Get out of there Mia!"_ The sharpness of her voice only confirmed just how both scared and on top of things she was at the same time. Even the sirens of approaching police cars and other emergency services couldn't drown her voice out.

_Forgive me, Mom. I love you, but I can't obey you right now. Not right now!_ Mia thought as she slammed her elbow into the man she'd just knocked down's face, rendering him unconscious. The girl didn't bother to even respond to her mother's impassioned words. She immediately bounced to her feet and kept going. The path between herself and her friends was thick with armed men and women, ready to kill. She didn't care. They'd have to kill her before she'd stop, and even if they did, she wasn't going to make it easy for them. They'd have to _work_ for it.

The young girl felt the air rush out of her lungs abruptly and the rush of her body being slammed aside in mid air. She hit the ground rolling, coming up in a ready crouch. Her eyes rose to meet a burly looking man in a fighting stance. Like the rest of them, he was masked, so she could only see his eyes. That was all she needed to see. His eyes were filled with contempt, hate, and the intent to kill.

Her ribs ached where he had kicked her across the abdomen. She knew they were bruised badly; maybe even a couple were cracked or broken. It was certainly harder to breathe than it had been just moments before. Like with the cut, Mia pushed her resolve harder, trying to drown the pain out, for the moment at least. As far as she was concerned, this bastard was just in her way, like a box in the middle of the floor when you moved into a new house, or like that kid's toy in the middle of a messy room. What did you do when something was in your way? You either went around it, or moved it. Either option was fine with her.

He obviously didn't think of a fourteen year old girl as a threat. The man seemed all but unconcerned with her. The only reason he seemed to even bother with her is that she was on the field, and she was trying to get to where she shouldn't be. Beyond that, he probably couldn't care less about her. Unfortunately, this particular fourteen year old girl was trained by the Daughter of the Demon, and former leader of the League of Assassins. He'd be reevaluating his threat assessment standards after what was coming next, she was sure. That was assuming someone left him in the condition to reconsider those standards, of course.

The masked man lunged towards her with his fist open, but fingers curled. Just at a guess, she figured he was reaching for her hair to jerk her to her feet. It would be the sort of thing such an asshole would try, she figured. _Isn't he going to be surprised?_ she thought with a smirk.

As he reached for her, she lunged forward herself. She kept herself under his hand reaching for her so that all he grabbed was empty air. Her right hand shot up like a cobra and she grabbed his groin in her fist. He howled as she curled her fingers viciously squeezed and simultaneously twisted his privates hard. As she did so, she used her legs to rocket her up to a standing position.

Along the way, she steeled herself and slammed her head into his face. The curve of her skull cracked hard into his nose, and she felt the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking. The angle she struck him with slammed his nose in such a way as to also stab into his sinuses, which blinded him temporarily with blood and his eyes watering from the pressure. He staggered back with his hands over his face, and she released him from her grip.

Roaring in rage, he drew a gun and pointed it in her general direction. She spun to kick him hard in his already injured groin, but he managed to squeeze off a shot. The bullet burst from the barrel of the gun, but instead of hitting her center mass as he intended, the bullet grazed her shoulder. The hiss of sizzling flesh stung like hell and she could feel the scratch bleeding, but she was alive. That was all that mattered. Mia managed to put him on the ground, in too much pain to try to stop her again, and she continued her rushed path.

Seconds later, she reached Kara and Alex. Alex was shaking, pale as a ghost, but she was trying to get Kara to respond to her. The Kryptonian lay still, either unconscious, or dare she think it, dead. Mia looked at Alex in alarm, but turned her attention to Kara once more. Her chest still rose and fell, Mia noticed, and she released a breath in relief.

Around them, the masked invaders were scattering, obviously retreating. The cowards weren't even bothering to collect the bodies of their compatriots that lay scattered in the streets. Those that were still able to get up were doing so, trying to catch up with their honorless friends.

The street was in shambles. Street lights were crushed, bent and knocked over; cars were smashed against each other, buildings and other things. Scorch marks lay on the walls of most of the nearby buildings, and spent shell casings littered the ground around them. Windows were shattered, a couple of walls near them had holes blown in them, and the police and emergency vehicles were pouring in as near as they could. As far as they could tell, the civilians that had been in the area had managed to make it out of the neighborhood for the most part. No civilian casualties were visible from their positions.

DEO agents came out and eased Kara onto a gurney before wheeling her into the building. Other medics helped Alex to sit on a bench while they examined her. She'd lost a lot of blood, but the wound wasn't fatal. She'd gotten lucky, it seemed.

Among the fallen attackers, agents found two in good enough shape that they could be confined without any sort of medical concern. Alex directed them to be taken inside and placed into confinement. The woman's eyes kept darting towards the building every few seconds, which told Mia that Alex was worried about Kara. Extremely worried, and rightfully so.

The cleanup continued, and J'Onn had everyone go inside the DEO building and those needing medical attention were being taken to the med bays. Meanwhile, J'Onn, Thea, Nyssa, and Mia stepped out of the elevator into the operations hub. Silence settled over the room for a moment as everyone turned to see them all emerge from the elevator.

Everyone had sustained some sort of injury it looked like. Everyone was smeared with grime, dirt and soot, and each sported several bad cuts or other fairly serious bleeding wounds. Half of them were limping with sore movements and opted to sit as soon as they could. All of them had seen better days, that much was clear.

Alex entered the room limping as well, and grimacing in pain from her gunshot wound, more than likely. Behind her, a medic trailed after her, trying to examine the wound and dress it, but Alex kept pushing the woman back in a distracted manner. The woman was undeterred, so you had to admire her tenacity.

"Oh, my God, thank God you're all okay, well semi okay, anyway," Felicity babbled as she ran to meet the group as they came closer to the operations hub. The concern in her eyes was evident, but no one was surprised to see she was making a beeline for Mia. None of them begrudged her that fact. Mia was her daughter, after all.

Before Mia had a chance to react, Felicity grabbed her up in a tight hug, a hug like someone drowning. Mia hissed and winced where her mother's arms pressed hard into both the knife wound and the bullet graze. Even so, she expected Felicity's reaction, and even if she wouldn't say it out loud, she was relieved to be in her mother's arms and not lying in the street, hurt or dead.

Felicity kept Mia in her embrace, and squeezed her so tight Mia thought her eyes were going to pop out for what seemed like forever. Felicity stroked her daughter's hair with shaking hands and trembled with the force of tears she was finally allowing herself to let flow. "Thank God, Mia," she whispered near the girl's ear. "I was so worried, so damned worried. You could have— you're alive, that's what's important. You're alive, Honeybear."

_At least she's not yelling at me… yet,_ thought Mia as Felicity kept her in the tight grip of a worried mother. She hated that she worried her mom like that, but she did what she felt she had to do. She couldn't just stand by, out of the way, out of danger, and let everyone else face it all alone.

"Yeah, I'm alive, Mom," Mia whispered softly against her mother's ear, keeping her other thoughts to herself. "I'm a little hurt, but I'm okay. I'm okay, I promise. I'm right here with you."

Alex looked around the room and frowned with determination. Her people knew what that look meant. Heads were going to roll, and they were glad it wouldn't be theirs rolling. Director Danvers was _pissed off._ That was putting it mildly.

"As soon as those two ass wipes are taken care of and capable of talking, I want to know. I've got questions and I am _going_ to get answers," she declared with a hard but quiet tone. "While we're waiting, get on finding me every single tiny little detail and fact you can get from them, their equipment, their weapons, their clothes, or whatever. I want _no_ stone unturned or lead not followed. Information, people. _Now."_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 8**

**AN -** I'm sorry it's been so long in between updates. I've had a lot of stuff going on, and it's been too hectic to do much of anything. But, I'm able to sit and write this chapter, so I'm hoping it'll make up for at least a little of the long wait! Thank you, each and every one of my readers, whether you comment or not. It means a lot to me, and any constructive criticism or comments are, of course, welcome. I don't get a chance to respond to each and every comment or commenter, but I do read your comments, and appreciate them greatly. Thank you for reading.

X

The entirety of the DEO and its resources turned its efforts to trying to unravel the mystery of the mysterious attackers, namely who they were and what their intent was. There were no symbols or any other obvious markings on their clothing, no insignia or anything of the sort. As Alex had ordered, every single piece of clothing, every weapon, everything in the mysterious attackers' possession passed through the considerable array of equipment at the DEO's disposal.

The bodies of the dead attackers had been gathered and cleared from the streets as well, and the medical and biological teams were going over their bodies. They examined the corpses for significant tattoos, ritual markings, and even ultraviolet markers that some secret organizations used. If answers were there to be found, they would find them.

Alex led the others down to a large empty chamber that the organization often used as a training room. It had the benefit of being apart and away from the main hub of activity of the agency, and it also had certain security precautions to avoid unauthorized watching or listening in. She felt that anything any of them had to say was best kept among themselves, and away from those that had no reason to unearth these details.

"I've just come from checking on Kara," Alex said as everyone filtered into the room and found a comfortable place to rest themselves. The young woman looked haggard and exhausted. She shook as she lowered herself to sit on a nearby chair that rested near the wall of the room.

A chorus sounded throughout the room as every person there asked, "How is she?" They each looked at everyone else sheepishly. One person asking would have sufficed.

Alex lifted a hand to emphasize her point as she answered, "She's resting comfortably under a battery of yellow sun lamps. The Kryptonite bullet has been removed, and its being examined in the lab for anything it might tell us even as we speak. Meanwhile, Brainy is trying to find out how they even _know_ about Kryptonite and where they could possibly get their hands on it."

"It's not common knowledge that would be easily discovered, even in military circles," J'Onn said thoughtfully as he let his gaze wander around the room at the faces assembled. "Whoever they are, they must have an extensive intelligence hub in their organization."

"So it would seem," mused Nyssa as her voice drew out into an ever softening fade out. "It would make sense that such a group would be sufficiently suited for either infiltration or extraction of information through non conventional means. It's very much the sort of method used by the League."

"In either event, the attack was well coordinated and there was some actual skill involved," said Thea as she brushed her hair back from her face. She glanced around the room. "For such lopsided numbers, I think we did pretty damned well, especially Mia. She's never been in the middle of something like that before. I'm proud of you, Kiddo."

Mia smiled in light embarrassment at her aunt's praise, and mumbled a soft "Thanks."

Despite her relief of being assured she did a good job, there was a heavy tension in the air. It was so thick and heavy, it felt like she were holding up a building on her shoulders. Her stomach knotted up more and more every moment the tension built.

Felicity wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. Turning towards her, she smiled lightly as she spoke, "I'm proud of you too, Mia. You used what Nyssa and Thea taught you, and were very impressive doing so."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and Mia glanced over at her mother. That was something she never thought she'd hear come out of her mouth. Usually, she freaked about the slightest scrape Mia might find herself in. Praise was common in their household, but it was for average, normal things. Felicity rarely spoke of her training, and when she did, it was minimal. She always got the feeling that her mother may have been proud of the ability she was unlocking with Nyssa's training, and the assistance of Thea while she was able to be around, but she rarely made any mention of it.

That was when the bomb dropped.

Felicity turned to face Mia and laid her hands on the girls shoulders. Her fingers squeezed them lightly as she caught her daughter's full attention. Her lips curved upwards and she said, "I mean it, I'm very proud of you, and very impressed. You went up against some really uneven odds, and managed to come out on top. But you—"

"Oh, _there_ it is. Here we go," interrupted Mia as she backed up a step and glared at her mother.

Felicity frowned in confusion. "There _what_ is? Here we go with _what,_ exactly?"

"_You,_ Mom. Every time something happens where I have to use my training, you freak out. You compliment me, and then in the same breath start in on me. What the hell am I training for if you don't want me to _do_ anything with it?"

"Mia, you know damned well why you're training. It's so you can protect yourself, and be ready if something happens and they co—"

"It's so I can protect _us,_ Mom," Mia shot back. Her bright eyes were blazing with frustration and something else. "Innocent people, our friends, our _family_… all of them were in danger. I was in a position to do something about it, to help. And I'm just supposed to sit out of sight on the sidelines and _watch_ them get hurt, or worse, _killed?"_

Their voices had gotten louder with each sentence, and the rest of the room had gone quiet. None of them wanted to interrupt a very personal argument between mother and daughter, regardless of their opinion on the subject. That was a sure way to escalate an argument into a full blown fight.

Felicity opened her mouth to retort, obviously exasperated and angry by this point, but Nyssa stepped between the two women with a hand on each's shoulder. The touch was light, but firm enough that they both knew Nyssa would insert herself physically between them if the argument got any more aggressive than it already was.

"Felicity! _Al Najim!"_ Nyssa interjected as she laid hands on their shoulders. Her gaze moved back and forth between the two of them as she got them both silent for a moment. The pair of them seemed momentarily stunned into silence.

Relieved that they weren't resisting her attempts to play peacekeeper, she drew a deep breath and removed her hands from the two women's shoulders.

"I understand that your emotions are near the boiling point, but hear me. Please? You each feel strongly about your position, and rightfully so, because you are both right, and both wrong. Let us speak of this calmly, like the surface of a lake, rather than as the angry red and yellow pitch of a raging inferno."

Felicity and Mia both fell silent and focused their eyes on the former assassin's face. Her features were firm and hard, businesslike. They were also compassionate and genuinely concerned for them both. She was being put in the middle of a fight she shouldn't even be witnessing, and they both felt bad about it.

Seeing that she had their attention, Nyssa pressed onward. She turned to Mia as she reached up to brush the girl's hair back from her face with her fingers.

"_Al Najim,_ your mother worries for you, and is so aggressive in her expression of that worry because of the enormous love she holds in her heart for you. Perhaps her expression of these feelings could calm down into something more receptive to you, but you should not dismiss, discount, or ignore the fact that _everything_ Felicity does is in the intent of protecting you and because she loves you. Love is a precious and rare gift, and we should regard it as such."

"That's true, Mia," Felicity blurted out as her gaze flicked back to her daughter. "I'm just trying to do what I can to protect you. I know you're training to protect both of us, but it's a mother's instinct to protect her child, no matter what. If you weren't so reck—"

"Felicity," Nyssa interrupted as her hands came back up to their shoulders. Her tone was soft, yet it commanded attention. "Mia is young, very young, and she does not completely understand the ways of the world as yet. She doesn't know and understand them as you or I do, but she learns every day. What you perceive as reckless is her spirit burning to do what she feels must be done to keep you both safe, and those that are close to you.

"As it is a mother's instinct to protect their children, no matter what, it is a child's instinct to safeguard and protect those closest to them. Perhaps she is reckless, that is something she shall have to work on to improve. But it is born not out of carelessness, but rather from the urgency she feels that she must act upon.

"None of us is perfect, but we must strive to maintain our path to the best version of ourselves for ourselves and each other. We must see our faults, recognize them, and then work to minimize them. The more we understand each other, the more we understand ourselves. The connection the both of you share with each other is evident and radiates from the cores of your beings. Embrace the connection, and each other. Do not attempt to fight the tide, for you will only defeat yourselves," Nyssa finished as she glanced at each woman once more.

Silence fell between them and Felicity could feel her eyes starting to well up. She grabbed Mia in a tight hug and gave her a brief squeeze before releasing her. "Nyssa's right, Honeybear. I'm sorry, I just need a few minutes…"

With that Felicity gave Nyssa's arm a gentle squeeze and she hurried out the west side door to the chamber. The heavy metal door closed behind her with a quiet boom.

Mia looked up at Nyssa, and then averted her eyes. They were starting to redden at the edges and well up. "Yeah, I get it, Nyssa. I'll be out there."

With that, Mia went to the north side door of the room, and like her mother, stepped through it for it to close with a rumbling sound behind her.

X

Mia sniffed and turned her head as the heavy door behind her creaked, and then shut again with that quiet boom that echoed through the metal around her. There wasn't much in the little area she was in. It was essentially just a service alcove in a service corridor. She sat on the steps on a stairway that led upwards, probably towards some sort of lab. Mia felt she probably should have gone for a walk and found another, more private, place to sit,but she'd probably have run into a dozen or so restricted areas, so why bother?

Alex rubbed her hands together as she regarded the young girl. "Hey, Mia, are you okay?" she asked. The sheer heat of emotions rolling off the girl was almost physical.

Mia scowled and turned her head with an expression of frustration, and something that looked an awful lot like anger in her eyes. "Oh, yeah, I'm fucking fantastic," she growled out in a snarling voice. "According to _her_ I'm just a little kid, weak, helpless and defenseless. 'Keep training and make Nyssa and me proud, Mia.' 'Learn how to fight from one of the best fighters in the world, but don't use it for anything, Mia.' 'You're too reckless, Mia.' 'What the hell were you thinking, Mia? Don't you realize how dangerous that is, Mia?'" She snorted loudly after she sarcastically mimicked her mother, then turned her head to hide her tears.

"Mia, you have to realize th—"

Mia snapped her head around and her eyes flashed in the light. "I have to realize _what,_ Alex? That she's my mom, so she's _always_ right and so goddamned perfect it makes your teeth hurt? That I'm just some stupid little girl that doesn't know jack shit, can't do jack shit, and means jack shit? I know that already, so you wasted your time, energy and breath." She sunk down into a surly slump and kept her face pointed away from Alex.

Alex's face hardened and she suppressed her temper with a visible effort. "Look, I know how you're feeling. I know what it feels like to have your mom ride your ass constantly. That doesn't give you an excuse to bite everybody else's head off," she said in a tight but quiet tone.

"What the fuck would _you_ know about _my_ problems, or even have a clue about how I'm feeling? You're the boss of some secret government agency. Supergirl's your _sister_ for fuck's sake. Nobody says a word if you have to get into the thick of shit like today. Nobody treats you like you're two."

Alex laughed a sarcastic laugh and shook her head as she sat down next to Mia, whether she wanted her to or not. "What would I know? Kid, I've got the most over protective, overbearing, nit picking, judgmental, and asinine mother known to mankind. My mom makes Felicity look like Tinkerbell," she said as she laced her fingers loosely together.

Silence followed for several moments as Mia turned her head to stare at Alex, trying to gauge if she was being serious, or if this was some sort of ploy to get her to come around to the kind of thinking they wanted her to. Finally she drew her brows together and asked, "Really? I mean, you're serious? Your mom rides your ass too? Like… even now?"

"Yep, she sure does," Alex replied as she leaned back and stretched her legs outwards. Facing Mia, she continued, "You see, I was your age when Kara came to live with us, when we adopted her. She was fresh out of her space ship. She didn't know the first thing about Earth, except English and that's only because her cousin taught her English before he brought her over."

Alex paused for a long moment and watched Mia's face, gauging her reactions. She seemed to have calmed down some, so Alex kept going. "She was withdrawn, and scared, and my mom stayed on my ass _constantly_ about protecting her, looking out for her, making sure she did well and fit in, all that sort of stuff. It was my job to make sure she stayed safe. Here I am, this normal, average human girl being badgered into 'protecting' a super powered alien who could toss Greyhound buses like a Frisbee, and that obviously didn't need any sort of protection I could give her," Alex said with a faraway look in her eye.

Mia listened intently, and when Alex paused, she asked, "And your mom forced you to follow along behind her like following a puppy around with a pooper scooper? Wow, that has to really suck."

Alex stifled a laugh and nodded severely, trying to project an air of seriousness since it seemed like she was getting through to Mia. "Yeah, it did at the time," Alex answered. "Here was this strange, weird alien girl who we took into our house, who took over half of _my_ room, and destroyed any hope I had of having a normal teenage social life. I had to hang out with her at school; anywhere she went, I had to go with her so she didn't freak people out, and if anyone decided to start anything with her, I had to step in before anything happened that would out Kara as an alien."

"You must have hated her then. That's a lot to suddenly drop on somebody."

The DEO Director nodded and allowed herself the ghost of a smile. "Oh, I did, I hated her for years. My mom constantly riding my ass about watching over her only made me hate her worse. We _did_ have our moments, now and then, like when we went out flying after she'd been here a few months. But we finally started behaving like sisters and treating each other like sisters when I was seventeen. I just wish it had happened under better circumstances," Alex said with her voice growing softer.

Mia frowned and stared at Alex oddly for several moments before saying, "She took me flying and that was _amazing._ But it took you guys three years to start to get close? What happened, what sort of circumstances are you talking about?"

The woman wiped her face with her hands and looked up towards the ceiling for a moment before speaking in a near whisper, "There was this guy we went to school with. He was the typical nerd, the jocks all gave him shit, and he was considered really weird by most of the school. He was probably the first, and for a long time the only, friend Kara had in school. He was murdered, and Kara and I solved his murder together, and bonded over it. And of course, Mom was right there to harass me to take care of her and protect her, as always."

From the expression on her face, it was obvious that Mia was thinking quite seriously and strongly about something. Finally, she asked, "Well, you are the older one of you two, right? I guess it kind of made sense, from your mom's point of view anyway. Still, it's not fun to be hounded constantly over the same old thing."

"No, it isn't fun at all," Alex agreed, and then she smiled conspiratorially. "Welllll….that depends on how you look at it. Biologically, yeah, I'm a year older than her, so I'm the 'big sister.' But, _chronologically_ she's actually within a year or so of my mom's age. So she's around fifty five. That's as close as we can put it in comparing Earth years to Kryptonian years, anyway. You know her cousin, Superman? She literally used to change his diapers!"

"No way! Really? And everybody calls her 'Superman's younger cousin?' Bullshit!"

The pair laughed for a long moment, and then Alex shrugged. "Even now, Mom rides me constantly to take care of Kara, to watch out for Kara, to protect Kara, don't let Kara do anything that will endanger her, and all that," she sighed, and watched Mia's reactions.

When Mia didn't speak immediately, Alex continued, "But, honestly, now that I'm grown, I understand it more. Believe me, I still resent it in some ways to this day, but I get it now why Mom has always been that way. Kara lost not just her family, or her house, or whatever. She lost her entire _planet._ All she has now is Superman, and the family she's created for herself, which is my family, and the others around here.

"She was so sad and broken, so _scared_ when she first came to us. Honestly, she _needed_ someone to care for her and look out for her. I wish I'd seen that then, like I do now. Mom was hyper over protective of her, and relied on me to take care of her. It was a constant litany that I tried to drown out, but I'm glad I did it anyway, even though I resented being told constantly.

"Mom treated Kara kind of like you feel Felicity treats you, only probably a few thousand times worse than what you have to deal with. You'd have thought Kara was this delicate, fragile little piece of glass that the slightest wind would have crushed. But you know something? Mom loved her every bit as much as she would if Kara had been her own biological daughter, like she loved me. I was the 'tough strong one,' so naturally, she stayed on my ass to protect Kara. But like I said, I get it now, and honestly, as aggravating and frustrating as it was, I'm glad she was like that with her, with both of us."

Silence again loomed over the both of them for long moments, and finally Mia sighed, and directed her gaze towards Alex again, as she said, "So basically, what you're trying to tell me is that Mom is so crazy protective over me because she loves me, even though she knows I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, right? You were telling the truth, but you were telling me all that to give me correlative realization of that fact, rather than me blocking it out because it was constantly thrown at me, huh?"

Alex slowly grinned and winked at her. "I told you that you were more like your mom than you thought," she said with a soft laugh. "See? I didn't even have to go requisition a sledgehammer to make my point."

Both laughed at that with a much cheerier sound, and they embraced tightly, then headed back towards the chamber. Mia gave Alex's arm a squeeze and whispered, "Thank you."

X

Kara woke up feeling the familiar tingling of the yellow sun lamps on her skin, and held her head as she felt groggy. She shook her head to clear it, and stood up slowly. Her vision was clear, though she had a massive migraine. Her chest and back were extremely sore, and she could still feel the residual effects of the Kryptonite bullet. It was like sobering up after a three day bender, or at least that's what she'd heard.

One of the nurses stopped her and told her that she should lie back down, but Kara insisted she was okay, so she was allowed to pass without any hassle or hindrance. She headed down to the training chamber, because that was the most logical place for the others to be, since they weren't in the Operations Hub.

Though it had been muffled, her super hearing had picked up the rather loud conversations that had been going on in the chamber. She entered the chamber and joined J'Onn, Alex and Thea as the argument between Felicity and Mia reached its conclusion. Each of them stormed out a different door and all but slammed them behind themselves.

Thea saw the expression on Kara's face as she came to join them where they were standing, and Thea shook her head softly. "Don't worry, you didn't miss much," she said with a soft tone. "Mia's so damned stubborn, and Felicity's… well, she's Felicity. She's way over protective, but Mia's her daughter, so you kind of expect that sort of thing and can't blame her. I think any of us would be the same way with our kids."

"Don't worry, I've got Mia," Alex said as she stood up and started jogging towards the door the young girl had just exited through. "Maybe I can talk to her where she wouldn't listen to her mom."

Kara winced as she moved too suddenly and the pain where the bullet had entered her twinged. It'd be okay in a short while, she knew, but it was still uncomfortable if she moved too suddenly the wrong way. "I think I'll see if I can talk to Felicity. Once she calms down, she's usually pretty easy to talk to."

When the others nodded in agreement, she went back towards the door she'd just entered through. Sure enough, on the other side, Felicity had found a seat on a set of stairs that led up to the level above them.

Kara took more care than normal as she approached Felicity, trying to be sure not to make any sudden movements, or turn too quick so the pain wouldn't come back as strongly. She didn't like pain at all, especially since she'd gone so long without feeling it.

Felicity looked up as the Kryptonian came to sit with her. Her face showed the depth of sympathy and concern that was mirrored in her eyes as she moved to stand when Kara tried to sit down. "Hey, Kara, are you okay? Do you need any help?" she asked.

It was obvious that Felicity had been crying, and there were still tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks even as she spoke. She reached out and took hold of Kara's upper arm and helped her ease down onto the stair into a sitting position.

"I think I've got it, but thanks for the help," Kara grunted as she finally settled on the stair.

After a moment or so's worth of silence, she pressed on, "Look, I know it's not any of my business, and if I'm butting in, just tell me. What's going on, Felicity? I know mothers and daughters have their good days and their bad days, but this seems… well, it seems like there's more to it. Talk to me, please? I hope you know that you _can_ talk to me, about anything, any time."

Felicity nodded and pulled her glasses from her face, letting them dangle from her fingers as she rested her forearms on her raised knees. She nodded, even as tears suddenly burst over her eyelids, and said, "I know I can, thank you, Kara." She sniffed and picked up the tissue she'd pulled from her purse and tried to straighten herself up.

Suddenly, she just blurted out, "She's just so… so… she's so goddamned _stubborn_ and reckless! You saw her out there earlier! She should have hung back, found a way to help without getting shot, or stabbed or having to fight some bastard ten times her size! But no, she just jumps right on in, no matter how dangerous it is, no matter how many heart attacks she gives me! Maybe she's trying to give me a heart attack, I don't know. I just worry so much about her, Kara!"

Felicity buried her face in her hands and felt the rush of feelings come pouring out of her as she trembled beside Kara. "She's my little girl, my sweet, sweet little girl. My Honeybear. I just want her to be safe."

Kara's hand touched Felicity's back and started rubbing in a comforting motion, gliding along the fabric of her top. "I know she is," Kara said softly. "I know you're scared for her, too. What mother wouldn't be? But you know, she's not really a little girl anymore. She's a young, smart, strong woman."

Felicity sniffed again and settled her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. "Logically, I know she's not a little girl anymore. I know she can take care of herself. She's spent most of her life training with Nyssa. I _know_ she can take care of herself. But every time I look at her, all I can see is that precious little baby I held for the first time in Oliver and mine's bed when our midwife handed her to me. She was the sweetest, most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and I swore I'd do anything and everything, no matter what it took, no matter what it cost, to keep her safe. And then she keeps doing stuff like this!"

Kara sighed and nodded. Felicity was right. Mia was extremely brash, certainly reckless and eager to jump into the thick of things. Maybe part of that could be her limited social exposure, considering they only went into town for groceries, and even then it wasn't to the city. It was a small little community near Star City, a sleepy little place where there weren't enough people to pose a threat. Even their neighbors, the retired agents of various government agencies, including ARGUS, didn't amount to a large number. As a result, her interaction with people other than her mother, Nyssa, and occasionally Thea were her only consistent exposure to others.

"She's _so_ much like Oliver," Felicity said in a near whisper as she hugged her arms around herself. "She never thinks of herself or what could happen. She just… leaps right on in, without a second thought."

"Yeah, she is. She's a lot like him. She's got a lot of his positive traits too, Felicity, just like she's got a lot of you in her. Being like her parents isn't a bad thing. It's a wonderful thing. She just needs a little restraint, maybe?"

Felicity huffed, and laughed an ironic sounding laugh. "Me? What did she get from me? Blonde hair, fair skin, superficial facial similarities and blue eyes. And even that is still partially Oliver. I guess that's why we butt heads so much. She's so much like her father, and so little like me. There's nothing for me to relate to, really. There's no mutual connection there, it doesn't seem like."

Kara rubbed her back again in silence for a moment and then leaned forward to see her face better as she replied, "Actually, Felicity, I think the two of you butt heads so much isn't because she's a lot like Oliver, but rather because she's a lot like you. She's got a fire, a passion, a laser sharp focus about her. Sure, Oliver had those things to a certain degree, but she shares more of those things with your types of those things than she does with his. She's a very complex blend of the two of you, but there's so much of you in her, so much of your strength, Felicity."

Silence reigned again for a long time and finally Felicity stopped sniffing and laced her fingers together loosely. "I promised Oliver that I'd take care of her, keep her safe. We didn't want the kind of life for her like the one we lead. That's why she knows _nothing_ about him being the Green Arrow, or me being Overwatch. That's why she doesn't know why he had to be the one to save the goddamned universe.

"We wanted her life to be _normal,_ like any other kid her age's life was. Scuffed knees, straight A's, elementary school crushes, honor rolls, college, boyfriend…or girlfriend, that sort of thing. A _good and happy_ life where she could be absolutely anything she wanted to be, where she could do anything she wanted to do.

"Instead, she's trained most of her life with a member of the League of Assassins to become a living weapon, she's had very limited interaction with other people, and all she's known is bettering herself, preparing herself for some threat that to her is simply an abstract concept. That's hardly what we were thinking of when we were thinking 'normal.'"

"Whether her life is normal or not isn't what's important," Kara said as she reached over and squeezed Felicity's hand with a gentle squeeze. "Letting her be who she _is_ more so than who she's _supposed_ to be is going to be accepted far more readily.

"From what I understand, Oliver went completely against the grain, and turned out to be something far, far different than what his parents envisioned him being. And you, you have many of the same talents that your father did, but you weren't your father, or what his vision of what you would be was. Instead, you found yourself with your father's talents and intellect, but you've told me yourself that you got your strength and determination from your mother.

"What little I know about her, she led a very…um…unusual lifestyle to make _sure_ that you had the tools that you needed to thrive and become the amazing person you are today. She knew you'd be much different than her, and that was okay. She wanted you to be _Felicity Smoak Queen,_ not a carbon copy of Donna Smoak."

A smile crept up on Felicity's lips as Kara bumped her shoulder with her own in a friendly and familiar manner. "Mom put up with and endured a lot," she said with a wistful smile. "She actually did a _lot_ more, put up with a lot more, and toughed her way through a lot more than I ever realized or noticed when I was growing up. She may not be smart in the same way I am, and may not be able to do the same sorts of things I do, but she's smart in ways and has a strength about her that very few people I've ever met could claim to have. In a lot of ways, she was far more of a 'Superwoman' than I ever realized."

Kara nodded, and offered her friend a light smile. "Yeah, and Mia's like you were. She's got so much of both you and Oliver in her, but she's discovering who _she_ is," she said with a quiet but certain tone. "There's a ton more of you in her than you think. I think she'd tell you that if she knew what you thought. Your daughter is a lot more like you than you think. Protect her, take care of her, and love her, but let her be _Mia Smoak,_ not some stranger to you and her both."

Felicity laughed, and reached over to hug Kara tightly. With her cheek nestled against Kara's hair, she whispered, "You know, you should add 'super inspiration' and 'super pep talking' to your list of powers."

X

Kara and Felicity came back in, and Felicity was red eyed, but seemed in a much better place than she was when she'd exited the chamber. Mia glanced up when she came in, and excused herself from the conversation.

Kara winked at her, and moved away, leaving mother and daughter standing there together. For a moment, they just stared at each other, as if trying to find the words to say what they were thinking and feeling.

"Mom," Mia began as she took a very deep breath and let it out slowly. "Listen, I know you love me and are just worried about me. If you're over protective and stuff, it's probably because I'm way too gung ho. You're right, though. I _am_ reckless sometimes. Even I have to see it. So, in the future I'm going to try really, really hard to be less reckless.

"What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry if I scared you, and if I hurt you earlier because I can be a royal bitch sometimes, and I know I can. I'm really sorry, Mom. I love you."

As the last words came from her mouth, Mia grabbed her mother and hugged her tightly against her for a long moment. It was almost like the girl was drowning and she was hanging on for dear life.

"I love you too, Honeybear," Felicity whispered back as she tightened her own grip on her daughter. It was like she'd been missing for ten years and had just shown up on her doorstep. "I'm sorry too, and I'm going to try really, really hard to be a lot less over protective. It might take a while, but I'm going to try, I promise."

"Deal."

Suddenly the heavy door swung open and Alex dashed into the room. The look on her face was deadly serious, and she was holding a report print out of some kind, it looked like.

The look on her face was solemn, almost furious. "Our mystery guys have been identified," she said with a tense tone. "The fuckers are from the Ninth Circle. I just got tertiary confirmation from our third source. Somehow the sons of bitches tracked you here, or got lucky and spotted you somewhere."

"Or there is an informant in your ranks, or one of their operatives is close to someone within your organization, possibly without your person's knowledge," said Nyssa with a dark weight to her words.

"I thought that, too, Nyssa," Alex replied as her hand reflexively stroked the handle of her sidearm. "I said I was going to get answers, and you can bet your ass I'm going to get a _lot_ of answers, and I'm going to get them fast."

Felicity looked at everyone in the room, and her brows bunched over the frames of her glasses. "That settles it then. We've got to get back to Star City, and get back fast. We've got to leave, like right now."

Everyone nodded quietly in agreement, and Alex stated, "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but you're not going alone. We've got carrier choppers big enough to carry your car, and they have stealth technology. If they show up, we know they've got someone on the inside, or at least an ear. Let's get you ready."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Arrow: Legacy**_

**Chapter 9**

**AN -** I'm sorry it's been so long in between updates. Between the quarantine with the coronavirus and all that, everything seems like it's come down all at once. I am sorry for the delay and hope you enjoy the story. Thank you all for reading, and for those that have taken the time to comment or review, or favorite my work or me as an author, a double thanks to all of you. I hope my work doesn't disappoint and that you enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

X

The damp autumn air was cool as it filled Mia's lungs. Her feet touched down on the dead leaves and grass, still damp from the rains of just a couple of days before as she whirled again, trying to land a kick on Nyssa only to be blocked and cast off. The coolness of the air around her made everything come into an ever sharper focus and she felt alive. This was her favorite time of the year to train with the former assassin.

The very instant Mia's foot came to rest on the ground, Nyssa feinted a fast, sharp kick towards her knee. The move triggered Mia's instinctive maneuver to counter it, only to discover the kick was a feint too late. Nyssa's body had whirled even as Mia shifted her position to counter the kick, and the young girl knew she was in trouble. She had just set herself up flawlessly for Nyssa's true attack. The sudden realization coincided with that lurching in her stomach, the anticipation of suffering defeat yet again by her teacher.

Just as suddenly, something snapped inside the young girl. Nyssa had taught her and tried to evoke in her what she called the "combat mind," a state of awareness that would use her instinct instead of conscious thought to guide her actions during a confrontation. If she were able to attain that heightened sense of awareness, no longer would her actions be bogged down by the purposeful thoughts that slowed her responses and reactions.

If she could attain it, she would fight like Nyssa and Thea did: effortlessly and fluidly, with no wasted motion or breath. She would be nearly unbeatable against most opponents. Those that could outdo her and actually defeat her would find the task quite difficult. It would require most, if not all, of their skill to accomplish the deed. It wouldn't be an easy task by any measurement.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as whatever snapped inside Mia snapped. She could feel the leather wrapped hilt of the scimitar she held in her hand. She could feel its heft and weight, a comfortable old friend that had developed over the past fifteen years. Sounds echoed in her mind and were as exaggerated as the vista of movement around her. It was as if she found herself in some sort of bubble where time and space nearly stopped, where things progressed much slower.

Mia's foot sailed by just in front of Nyssa's face as the assassin backed off to avoid the impact, and suddenly lunged forward. In the same instant her foot touched the ground, Mia whirled as she brought the blade up to deliver a strike aimed at Nyssa's neck. She felt resistance against her wrist as Nyssa's hand caught her attack and stopped it, while Nyssa's blade tickled the side of her neck.

Had the combat been real, the result would have been a mutual simultaneous kill. As the combat halted, both women were face to face, so close they were almost touching. Mia stared into the dark eyes of her teacher, and saw the inscrutable face she always saw when they trained. She could never tell what Nyssa was thinking when they sparred. The assassin gave no clue that she could detect.

Mia breathed heavily. The combat had been intense and fierce and now that it had stopped, she realized just how winded she was. Still focused on Nyssa's unreadable features, Mia drew deep, ragged breaths. It was then that she saw something completely unexpected. Nyssa's features suddenly softened into a genuine smile as they both slowly relaxed from the heat of combat that held them both only seconds before.

Just before they relaxed their stances, Nyssa spoke in a quiet but clear voice, "You are ready." Without further comment, the assassin whirled her blade and sheathed it once more in the scabbard at her side.

Confused, Mia sheathed her own sword as she studied her teacher. Nyssa had made no other movement, nor had she said anything further. After several silent seconds, Mia's brows knit together and she tilted her head. "'Ready?' Ready for…?"

Nyssa had turned away from her student to put her blade aside near her pack. When Mia asked the question, she turned towards the girl with a quizzical expression of her own. Finally, she answered, "You have managed to fight me into a stalemate, a simultaneous kill. You have managed to land a killing blow against me, even though you would have died yourself. Few can claim to have accomplished such a thing. This means your training is complete and has met its intended goal. You are ready."

Nyssa continued to pack up the items she had been using during their training as Mia was left standing and staring at her, dumbfounded and in shock. "You… you're saying that I'm done training and can handle the threat we've faced all these years now?" she asked finally.

That typical slight curling of the corners of Nyssa's lips as her gaze moved back towards her pupil. Her eyes sparkled as she replied, "I'm saying that you have reached the point where few, if any, of the Ninth Circle shall be able to defeat you if you use what you have learned.

"Training is _never_ finished, _Al Najim._ I expect you to continue training as you have the past fifteen years. However, we have accomplished the goal that we all considered necessary. All that you _need_ to know at this point in your preparation, you have learned. Now, you are ready to use what you have learned to protect yourself, and your mother."

Felicity had come from the house, tea in hand, and simply listened to what Nyssa told Mia as she leaned against a tree, several yards from the pair. She wore a wistful smile that was both proud and sad at the same time. Felicity was proud of her daughter's determination and will to do what she must, extremely proud. But she was also sad that it felt as if things were over.

_Not the problem with the Ninth Circle and the threat they pose. It feels like Nyssa doesn't need to come around anymore. I can't imagine what it will be like without her coming here for half the year now. Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like I'll be saying goodbye to a sister. I feel like I've grown very close to our complex, but amazing, Daughter of the Demon. I'll miss her,_ Felicity thought as she sipped her tea and listened.

Nyssa led Mia to the picnic table. There was a large wooden footlocker sitting on it that looked like it had seen much better days. The metal hasp and lock was obviously quite old and as weathered as the box itself. Nyssa regarded Mia with a mysterious half smile for a moment, and then opened the box with a directness and confidence.

Mia's eyes moved to the inside of the box as Nyssa pulled the beaten box's lid up. Inside it was a layer of cloth, probably covered up something in the bottom of the box. On top of the covering, however, was a beautiful black recurved bow. There was a full quiver of black arrows lying along with it. It looked brand new, but it obviously wasn't something you'd find in some sporting goods store. No, this was something most likely hand crafted by the Daughter of the Demon herself.

Mia stared at the bow in surprise, and open mouthed shock. The mysterious half smile on Nyssa's face remained. She met her student's gaze and said, "You've got quite a legacy to live up to. You've earned this bow. You deserve it."

Mia picked the bow up carefully, almost reverently and turned it back and forth as she studied it intently. Her brow wrinkled as she glanced back at Nyssa, "Legacy? What legacy? It's beautiful." She continued to study the bow in wonder for a moment.

Nyssa cast a subtle glance at Felicity for a moment before looking back at Mia. "I'm afraid I cannot explain further at this moment, _Al Najim,"_ she answered softly. Memories played rapidly behind her eyes. "Someday, I may be able to explain it to you, and tell you of it. For right now, please accept that this bow is very special, and that its legacy and honor now live in you."

X

Mia stood frozen as she stared at the screens in front of her. She'd just found this weird hidden room in their cabin, and now she discovered that her mother was involved in something huge, something that she'd been told by the world at large was wrong. Her mother was a vigilante.

Obviously, she served as some sort of information gatherer or something, because there were several files clearly marked for different people. Whether she sat behind a desk or ran around out on the streets, she was involved in very dangerous, very illegal activities. She'd been told all her life that vigilantes were dangerous, and that there were laws stringently against vigilantes, especially in Star City.

Mia stood in shock for several moments. Finally, she shook in outrage and anger as she muttered through clenched teeth, "You've got to be fucking kidding me. How the hell could you do this, Mom? How could you be involved in the very thing you've tried to tell me was wrong my entire life? I don't fucking believe this!"

She whirled and left the hidden room. As she cleared the door, she slammed it back shut with far more force than necessary. Mia paused in the living room and glanced around with eyes stinging with tears and burning with anger. Finally, she stormed towards the door and outside. She didn't care where her feet were taking her, only that she got away from the cabin.

"Mom, you've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do when you get home. I can't believe you would pull some shit like this. You, of all people."

X

Mia's mind was reeling as she stared at the screen in a familiar rage and sense of humiliation. On the screen was her father, dressed in green leather, talking to some interviewer about being a vigilante _on a fucking documentary, no less._ It was a documentary that had been banned in the city, but if you wanted to find something badly enough, you knew the channels to go through to get it. There was always a way to get something in the rougher parts of the bleak mass of buildings and streets called Star City.

It was almost too much to take. The past few days had been a whirlwind of craziness, of things that turned her personal world and reality on its ear. Everything she'd known had been flipped upside down and she was trying to pick up the pieces.

She'd come to the city and earned a living cage fighting and calling herself Blackstar. The money was good, the fame was even better. Mia had a reputation. Anybody with half a brain in the seedier parts of Star City knew not to tangle with Blackstar. It wasn't the happy little life that her mother had always wanted for her, but it was one she was happy with. Or at least she had thought she was happy.

Eventually, she made up with her mother and helped her out on some of her vigilante business. Mostly, it was information, or establishing contacts for her. As far as the vigilante stuff itself went, she kept herself far, far from it. She knew that sooner or later, it'd land both of them in some really hot water, but it was her mother. She was still angry as hell with her, but she couldn't shut her mother completely out. Despite everything, Felicity was still her mother. Pissed off or not, Mia still loved her, even if she tried hard to convince herself that she didn't.

She had thought that it was as crazy as it'd get. That theory got blown out of the water just a few short months after she'd found her way to Star City. She'd stopped her involvement with Connor Hawke, the foster son of John Diggle and Lyla Michaels Diggle. That part wasn't strange at all. Mia had a problem getting close to people and letting them in. She had an even bigger problem letting them stay in and stay close to her.

But then it happened, everything went to shit. This weirdo, two of the Canaries and this other guy came looking for her mother. The weirdo claimed to be her half brother, and tried to convince her to tell them where Felicity was or how to shut down the whole bomb thing she was supposedly trying to set in motion. Yeah, that all was fun.

She finally somewhat accepted the weirdo was her brother, and she'd agreed to help them, at least some of the way anyway. During the course of all that, she'd found out about the golden classic she was watching and got wind of where a copy was. She had to know what the film would say, so she stole the disc and found her way back to the bunker of all places. Then, she had pushed it into the machine and pressed Play. What followed was frame after frame of weirdness, humiliation, anger, sadness, so many things she couldn't even begin to try and sort out in her head.

Now, there she was, staring at the screen as the documentary _The Hood and the Rise of Vigilantism_ played in all its cinematic glory. Stunned, she couldn't help but watch the train wreck that was different from everything she'd ever been told about her father. The young girl didn't want to believe it, but there it was right in front of her, in both Technicolor and black and white.

There weren't words to describe the swell of anger, disappointment, and heart wrenching sadness rising within her like an erupting volcano. She didn't know what to think, how to feel, or how to react, so she did what she usually did in such circumstances. She blew up in unfocused anger.

X

Mia jumped, startled and suddenly awake as a hand gently shook her shoulder. She had been dreaming, fitfully, about the conclusion of her training and key events that took place afterwards, before she, William, and Connor were somehow transported back in time to 2019. She felt unsettled, and her skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

She looked up as she finally realized she wasn't in danger, she'd been asleep. Above her was the face of her brother, William. Mia sighed in something that sounded like relief and relaxed as much as she could, considering that the end of the multiverse seemed to be happening all around them at that very moment.

William seemed almost amused at her reaction, but Mia could see the empathy and compassion for her that filled her brother's eyes as well. Though they'd only known each other a short time, their familial bond had started to cement quickly.

He waited for a couple of moments before he said, "Hey, Sis, sorry to wake you… but Dad asked me to find you. He would like to see you, as quickly as possible. He didn't say what it was, but it sounded important. Then again, everything seems to sound important with Dad."

Mia let out a breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding, and nodded. She got to her feet, still feeling a little shaky, but she wasn't about to let William see it. If she showed even a trace of being anything but strong and ready, he'd go into protective big brother mode. That was something no one needed right now. She loved him for caring for her as he did, but she had to be strong and do what needed to be done. The multiverse's survival depended upon everyone doing their part, and she was no different.

"Yeah, it does," Mia agreed as she shook off the rest of the fuzz in her head from sleep. "Dad's kind of intense that way. I think with everything happening, though, it _is_ important. Where is he?" As she asked, she embraced William tightly. He'd already opened his arms and she wasn't about to take the time to play the brave tough girl card.

William turned and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder towards a door. "He's in there," he answered as his hand came down on her shoulder and gave it a brotherly squeeze. "With all of this going on, this Crisis… Dad's even more intense than usual. If he acts… well, if he acts gruff, or anything like that, try not to take it personally. He's got a lot on his plate, and he's worried about us, too. He's just trying to do the right thing, Mia. Just take that into consideration, okay?"

Mia glanced up at her older brother, and embraced him again as she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Don't worry, William," she said with a light smile. "I think I've learned to understand Dad a little the past few days. I get it, I think. I don't know, I think we've reached a good place, maybe. All of this is much, much bigger than my daddy issues right now. This is the time to stand _with_ him, not give him shit from the sidelines."

William shook his head, a smile on his face as he met his sister's eyes again. "I'll be damned," he said, chuckling. "A Queen _can_ actually bend a little and see reason after all." He winked at her and patted her shoulder again, continuing, "He loves us, Mia. No matter what else he's ever said or done, he really does love us. Like Mom says, he's just not the best at showing it."

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Mia asked with a laugh as she lightly punched her brother in the shoulder. Her expression softened as he kept talking, and she nodded. "I've been learning that, I think. You're lucky, you actually got to grow up with him at least a little, so you know him at least somewhat. I just met him a few days ago. I never knew him back then like you did, so I don't have anything to compare it to. But honestly, I think I'm getting to know him fairly well, much better than what I _thought_ I knew before we ended up here."

She and William shared a silent brother and sister moment, that unspoken communication that told them both volumes about what the other was thinking and feeling, and then she headed towards the room that William had indicated. She paused at the door, took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly.

Finally, she pushed the door open. Inside, he was standing next to a table, looking lost in thought. He seemed so _normal_ just standing there thinking compared to the leader and hero she'd seen since she had arrived in this time. She still had no idea how that had happened, but she had to admit to herself that she was glad that it happened. This was time that she would hold close to her and cherish, even the arguments they'd had since her arrival.

She stepped through the door as it opened and she called out, "Hey, Dad, William said you wanted to see me?" The door closed behind her and it was just her and her father, alone in the room.

Oliver glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled the half smile he'd been wearing a lot lately, especially when they'd had their talk on Lian Yu, before Lyla had come to bring them to the Monitor.

"I did," he said with a light tone as he turned fully. "I have something for you." His hand lightly slapped a large case on the table as he waved her over to him.

Mia didn't know why, but she was starting to get a churning feeling in her stomach. She came closer to him, to the front of the case and then looked up at him. "What is it?" she asked. Her confusion was as visible on her face as it was audible in her voice.

There was that enigmatic smile again as he regarded her for just a brief moment and then glanced at the case and back to her once more. "Only one way to find out." He stepped back and folded his arms loosely over his chest.

The churning got even stronger and she flipped open the catches on the case and opened it slowly. Inside was illuminated, and once the lid was open, she could see the components and attachments for the many types of arrows her father used, but there was a green suit folded in the middle. It was similar to what her dad was wearing, but the protective weave and other adornments seemed more modern.

Her jaw dropped and she gasped, unable to take her eyes off the contents of the case. "Please tell me that you're planning on wearing this," Mia said in a breathless voice. Her eyes shot up to her dad and then back to the case. She couldn't believe this. It was funny how a simple set of clothing could be awe inspiring.

Oliver was watching her reaction and looking thoughtfully at the contents of the case as well. He smiled and shook his head and spoke with a teasing tone. "I don't think that that one would fit me," he said. The corners of his lips turned upwards under the scruffy beard he wore. If Mia didn't know better, she'd think he was enjoying watching her become dumbfounded.

She found herself staring at the suit again as her father's voice dropped a bit and became more serious. Once she lifted her eyes to him again, he fixed her with a steady gaze and said, "There should always be at least one Green Arrow."

Shock rumbled across her face as he said those words, and it slowly dawned on her that he was talking about her. Mia opened her mouth and tried to get words out three times before she finally turned her gaze back to the suit in the case. Her voice felt like it was cracking as she replied, "Dad… I _can't."_

"No, Mia," Oliver said as he moved to stand beside her and laid his hand warmly over hers. "The Monitor has taken a lot from me," he continued. After a slight pause, he went on, "But I'll _always_ be grateful for the time he's given me with you."

Mia continued to stare at the suit and her eyes started to well up. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't believe how _final_ Oliver's words sounded, as if he would never say anything else to her. With growing concern and building anguish, she slowly looked up at him, "If you're not going to wear this, _no one_ should."

She could feel her heart breaking, but she could also feel the cold seeping fear finding its way up her spine. This couldn't be the last real conversation she'd ever have with her dad. It _couldn't_ be. A cold fist of regret twisted her soul as she realized just how limited her time with him would be, and how much of it she had wasted being angry and petulant with him since she'd arrived. That was time she'd never get back. It was time that she could have spent getting to know her father and learning _who_ he was, instead of letting her pride and ego get in her way. Now, it was lost and long gone.

Oliver, however, simply looked at her the way any proud father would look at his daughter. "You _earned_ it," he told her as he locked gazes with her and held her eyes a moment. Finally, a wistful smile crawled over his face and he glanced down at the suit. "Just try it on, okay? I've got to find Barry."

He gave her shoulder a squeeze as he moved past her to head out the door. Her gaze followed him as he left, and lingered on the door for long seconds after it closed. _You say I've earned it, but have I? Have I really? I've done little more than be a bitch to you since I got here, I've pushed you away and tried to make you pay for leaving Mom and me alone. I've treated you so bad, so shitty, and you love me anyway. How do you think I've earned this? This is an honor. You're a hero, Dad. A true hero. And I'm just a self centered little bitch with daddy issues. There's nothing honorable about that. I'm no Green Arrow, not by a long shot._

She pulled the suit up out of the case a bit and held it in front of her. Her eyes traced its lines and curves, moved across the protective weave, stared at it as if she were memorizing each and every detail. It just didn't seem real; it was like something out of a weird dream.

"Wow, nice suit!" exclaimed a familiar voice behind her. William closed the door behind him and came over to where Mia stood, and reached up to touch the suit Mia was holding in her hands. "I think it's fantastic. It's a fitting evolution for the new Green Arrow. I'm very proud of you, little sister."

Mia tried to turn her watering eyes away from her brother, but she knew that would be futile. He'd know it anyway, or make her look at him. So, instead she just let the tears roll down her face as she carefully folded the suit back down into the case.

"I don't deserve it," Mia said as she shook her head. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "Dad says I earned it, but _how_ did I earn it? All I've done since I've been here is try to hurt Dad every chance I got, to try to make him _pay_ for leaving Mom and me alone. I've been so hateful and mean, and even cruel, William. I'm no Green Arrow. I don't deserve to say the name, let alone wear the suit."

William frowned, and took her hand as he led her across the room to a table with chairs. He pulled out a chair for her and then sat down himself. After a couple moments' worth of silence, he answered, "You're human, Mia. You were hurting because you've never known Dad. He's been missing in your life since you were a baby. When we're hurt, it's natural for us to want to hurt back. I think Dad understands this. I don't know that he knows how to deal with it, really, but I think he understands it."

He shifted his seat around to face her more directly, and he reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. He had only known Mia for a short time, but he'd never imagined he'd ever see her actually cry. She put on such a tough act and she seemed like she believed it herself. William didn't see this as any sort of weakness. In his eyes, it was a strength to know that you weren't so strong you couldn't be hurt.

"Whatever the case," he pressed on as he squeezed his sister's hand again. "Dad thinks you've earned it, and you can take it from me, he's not just saying that to make you feel better or special. Dad never says anything like that that he doesn't believe. He never has. It took me a while to realize that, too.

"I used to be so angry with him. I even hated him because I felt it was his fault my mom died. I blamed him for everything bad in my life. He was a convenient target. He _took_ it, though, Mia. He took all of it. No matter how much I hated him, no matter how cruel I was or how deeply I cut him, he took it all. He loved me, and nothing I said or did was going to change that. I think that applies to you, too.

"Besides, you _have_ earned it. You've proven yourself. You've proven that you are worthy of the name Green Arrow, and Dad knows you have. Honestly, I myself think that the fact that you don't believe you've earned it proves that you _have_ earned it. Dad's never been the Green Arrow to get patted on the back and told how great he is. He's done what was right, whether it was hard or not."

Mia just listened to William talk and shook her head. It was scary how much like her mom William was and he wasn't even her biological child. No matter how quirky Felicity may have seemed, there was always a point and a method to her madness. She had a way of making it very hard to argue with her logic. William had the same damnable talent, and it could be frustrating beyond words. Frustrating or not, she wouldn't have him any other way.

After letting a silence linger between them for several long seconds, she sighed and met William's gaze. "Okay, so it's possible I've earned it. I don't believe it, but let's say for argument's sake that I have. What do I do now?" she asked as a slow half smile came to her lips.

William shrugged and smiled in victory, a smug little smile that always made Mia laugh and replied, "Well, I'm going to guess that Dad told you to try it on, right? So you try it on, of course. And you'd better do it quickly, because he'll be back from talking to Barry soon I think. Wouldn't it be cool for him to come back to you dressed all snazzy for the next fight?"

Mia got up, took the suit out of the case, and walked over to his chair. She wrapped her arms around him briefly and kissed his cheek again, whispering, "Thank you, big brother." With that, she headed to the next room to change.


End file.
